D 

629 

I55J13 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 

Letters 


BY 


KATE  JACKSON 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


4^     /^^ 


c 


?i. 


U. 


/"W-tVv 


A>^f^' 


xT 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  TO 
PERSIA 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2008  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/aroundworldtoperOOjack 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  TO 
PERSIA 


LETTERS  WRITTEN  WHILE  ON  THE  JOURNEY  AS  A 

MEMBER  OF  THE  AMERICAN-PERSIAN 

RELIEF  COMMISSION  IN   1918 


BY 

KATE  JACKSON 

(Mrs.  a.  V.  Williams  Jackson) 


NEW  YORK 

Printed  Only  For  Private  Circulation 
Among  Friends 

1920 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1920 
By  KATE  JACKSON 


PRESS  OF 

THE  NEW  ERA  PRINTING  COMPANY 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


JSS'JIS 


^l^ 


PREFATORY  NOTE 

These  letters  were  written  by  my  wife  to  her  sister,  Mrs. 
William  N.  Pratt,  of  Savannah,  Georgia,  while  we  were  on 
our  way  around  the  world  in  wartime  to  Persia  as  members 
of  the  American-Persian  Relief  Commission  in  1918.  Al- 
though quite  personal  in  character,  they  present  a  picture  of 
experiences  under  somewhat  unusual  conditions  and  during  a 
very  memorable  period.  They  are  reproduced  here  exactly 
as  they  were  written,  with  hardly  a  word  altered,  and  only  a 
few  copies  have  been  printed,  not  for  publication,  but  to  be 
given  to  some  special  friends  who  had  expressed  a  desire  to 
read  them. 

A.  V.  Williams  Jackson 
New  York, 

August  I,  1920 


3053b5G 


LETTER  I 
JAPANWARD 

On  board  the  S.  S.  "  Katori  Maru  " 

June  1 6th,  191 8. 
Dear  Nannie: — 

So  far  the  trip  has  been  fine.  We  sailed  at  noon  June  7th. 
and  not  a  single  qualm  have  I  had.  The  ocean  seems  very  big 
and  lonely,  for  we  have  not  seen  a  solitary  vessel ;  but  our  own 
is  most  comfortable.  It  is  not  very  large,  so  the  passengers 
come  in  contact  a  good  deal,  but  they  are  a  very  nice  lot.  We 
have  British  naval  officers,  English  civilians  connected  in 
some  way  with  the  Orient,  Canadians,  French,  Americans, 
Danes,  Japs,  a  diplomat  from  Chili,  the  Swedish  Ambassador 
to  Japan  and  in  the  second  class,  some  Russians.  Our  cabin 
is  quite  large,  and  besides  a  cupboard,  a  chest  of  drawers  and 
ourselves,  contains  three  steamer  trunks,  two  hat  boxes,  and 
six  large  bags,  all,  as  you  know,  packed  to  bursting  point.  We 
are  scarcely  even  conscious  there  of  the  machinery,  and  as 
both  the  dining-room  and  the  Social  Hall  are  equally  quiet,  it 
is  easy  to  read  and  work.  We  four.  Dr.  Cook,  Mr.  McDowell 
and  ourselves  have  a  table  in  a  corner  and  are  waited  on  by  a 
splendid  steward.  We  all  do  full  justice  to  the  excellent 
meals,  never  forgetting  the  compressed  meat  tablets,  in  our 
trunks,  for  future  use. 

Queer  things  happen  far  from  home  and  we  have  actually 
lost  a  day.  Friday  June  14th.  did  not  exist.  Fortunately  for 
Mr.  McDowell,  it  was  not  the  "Sabbath",  as  he  is  looking 
forward  to  holding  service  this  a.  m. 

Last  Sunday  he  had  a  little  service  in  his  cabin  for  just  us 
four;  he  is  as  good  as  gold,  a  staunch  Presbyterian,  and  with 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


a  very  keen  sense  of  humor  and  as  a  teller  of  good  stories,  he 
can't  be  beat.  Dr.  Cook  is  one  of  the  most  lovable  men  I  ever 
met,  and  we  are  both  devoted  to  him  already. 

We  expect  to  arrive  in  Yokohama  on  the  21st.  and  I  hope, 
go  by  train  to  Nagasaki,  spending  about  a  week  in  Japan. 
Through  a  mistake,  our  tickets  on  this  boat  were  taken  only 
to  Kobe,  but  we  hope  to  be  able  to  rejoin  it  at  Nagasaki  and 
go  to  Hong  Kong.  There  we  shall  probably  have  to  wait 
some  time  for  a  boat  to  India.  Unfortunately  the  rainy  sea- 
son will  still  be  on  in  Japan  and  I  fear  in  India  likewise,  so  if 
we  want  to  see  anything  of  the  former  country,  we  shall  have 
to  brave  rain  and  heat.  If  only  all  the  trip  were  to  be  as  easy 
as  this ! 

After  luncheon. — The  service  was  very  nice,  the  luncheon 
afterwards,  as  acceptable  as  ever.  Oh!  the  languages  in  this 
world;  one  hardly  realizes  how  many  there  are  till  one  ap- 
proaches the  Orient.  Will  and  I  study  Persian  every  day,  and 
I  help  him,  also,  with  French;  the  former  seems  difficult  to 
me  particularly  as  it  is  read  and  spoken  backwards. 

Dr.  Judson,  President  of  the  University  of  Chicago  has 
consented  to  join  the  Mission  and  we  are  all  delighted;  I  only 
hope  all  will  go  well.  Since  writing  the  above,  we  have  had 
a  wireless  from  a  member  of  the  party  at  Yokohama  and  he 
informs  us  he  has  accommodation  for  us  all  on  a  P.  and  O. 
steamer  sailing  from  Hong  Kong  July  14th.  When  one  makes 
a  trip  of  this  kind,  it  really  does  not  seem  half  as  far  as  ap- 
pears when  one  talks  it  over  at  home ;  I  find  it  hard  to  believe, 
though  that,  all  going  well,  I  shall  walk  on  Japanese  soil  in  a 
little  over  thirty-six  hours.  This  part  of  the  trip  has  been  so 
delightful,  I  hate  to  think  of  it  ending.  Not  seeing  the  papers, 
makes  the  war  seem  less  vivid,  and  the  perfect  rest  we  have 
had  has  been  simply  fine.    The  air  has  been  quite  cold  all  the 


way,  only  to-day  becoming  warmer.  From  Japan  on,  the  heat 
will  be  bad  and  will  become  almost  unbearable  on  the  Indian 
coast  and  in  the  Persian  Gulf.  If  we  have  to  wait  any  time  in 
India  we  shall  be  obliged  to  go  to  the  Hills. 

Perhaps  we  shall  have  to  sleep  oh  the  boat  at  Yokohama, 
as  we  understand  every  hotel  is  crowded  with  Russian  refu- 
gees. Tokio  is  only  half  an  hour  from  there  and  I  believe 
Kyoto  is  not  very  far  from  Kobe.  Nagasaki  is  down  in  the 
South,  so  we  ought  to  see  a  little  bit  of  Japan  anyhow.  I  am 
terribly  afraid  we  shall  miss  Fujiyama,  as  if  it  be  rainy  no 

mountain  will  show  itself. 

Lovingly, 

Katewill. 


LETTER  II 

GLIMPSES  OF  THE  ISLAND  KINGDOM 

On  board  the  "  Katori  Maru  " 

June  30th,  1918 
Dear  Nannie  : — 

I  thought  it  best  not  to  begin  a  letter  to  you  on  land  as  there 
were  so  many  interruptions.  We  landed  on  the  21st  at  Yoko- 
hama in  the  most  terrific  downpour,  and  as  they  said  it  was 
the  rainy  season,  I  feared  we  should  never  see  the  sun.  The 
next  day,  however,  was  beautiful.  Yokohama  is  essentially 
a  port,  so  we  went  to  Tokyo  to  stay.  Electric  trams  run 
every  few  minutes  between  the  two  cities,  taking  about  fifty 
minutes. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  we  did  not  see  much  of  Japan,  for,  as  this 
is  not  a  pleasure  trip,  we  had  always  to  be  on  hand  for  busi- 
ness connected  with  our  Relief  Mission.  After  a  long  session 
at  the  Embassy  on  Saturday,  Will  and  I  were  free  to  spend 
that  afternoon  in  sight-seeing  and  we  thoroughly  enjoyed  it. 
The  jinrikisha,  which  carried  us  almost  everywhere  is  not  a 
vehicle  much  to  our  taste;  it  is  built  for  the  narrow  Japanese 
and  not  for  great  hulks  like  us.  I  also  objected  to  being  drawn 
by  a  human  being,  though  Will's  tips  apparently  caused  the 
biped  not  to  share  my  objections.  On  this  wonderful  June 
afternoon,  our  first  jaunt  was  to  Shiba  Park,  where  we  saw  a 
couple  of  mortuary  temples  of  the  Shoguns.  They  were  small 
but  beautiful,  with  lovely  painted  ceilings  and  some  very  ex- 
quisite carved  wooden  panels.  As  usual,  the  exterior  inter- 
ested me  almost  more  than  the  interior;  there  were  rows  of 
gray  stone  lanterns,  five  or  six  feet  high,  in  which  they  place 
lights,  I  suppose  on  festival  days.    As  we  stood  at  the  top  of  a 

8 


GIi))ipscs  of  the  Island  Kingdom 


flight  of  stone  steps  and  looked  at  one  of  the  temples,  it 
formed  a  never-to-be-forgotten  picture.  Its  faded  red  walls 
and  pale  green  roof,  the  pine  trees  with  bright  green  grass  at 
their  base  and  the  blue  sky  overhead,  all  so  soft  in  coloring, 
made  a  charming  combination.  Later  in  the  afternoon,  we 
were  trundled  in  our  baby-carriages  to  Ueno  Park  wdiich  must 
be  wonderful  in  cherry-blossom  time.  We  went  into  a  mu- 
seum, but  were  more  interested  in  the  grounds.  The  black 
rocks,  with  pink  azalea  bushes  and  dwarf  trees  arranged  just 
in  the  right  way  on  the  loveliest  green  grass,  pleased  us  so,  it 
w-as  hard  to  go  back  to  the  perambulators. 

Saturday  night,  we  went  to  a  sort  of  a  Coney  Island. 
Streets  filled  with  small  shops,  cafes,  side-shows,  etc.  We 
w^ent  into  a  people's  theatre,  5  cts.  entrance,  and  it  certainly 
was  interesting;  the  house  \vas  simply  packed  with  the  hum- 
blest kind  of  people  and  just  as  many  as  could  stand,  even 
crowded  in,  the  best  fire-trap  you  ever  saw.  It  was  a  kind  of 
vaudeville  and  some  of  the  acting  w^as  excellent,  but  we  were 
sorry  we  could  not  understand  the  bantering  of  the  audience; 
everyone  did  enjoy  it  so.  After  we  had  seen  enough,  we  went 
to  a  high-class  theatre  and  as  the  hour  was  late  they  let  us  in 
for  nothing;  fancy  that  in  New  York!  The  costumes  of  the 
actors  w^ere  beautiful,  but  the  tragedy,  as  it  seemed  to  be,  we 
found  very  funny. 

Sunday,  we  went  to  an  American  church  which  bore  the 
high-sounding  title  of  Cathedral,  but  alas!  there  were  only 
seventeen  people  for  two  ministers  to  attend  to.  Afterwards, 
Dr.  Cook,  Dr.  McDowell  and  we  lunched  informally  with 
Ambassador  and  Mrs.  Morris;  they  are  charming,  both  of 
them,  and  much  liked  by  everyone  in  Tokyo.  He  is  very 
clever,  a  thorough  gentleman,  and  very  genial,  and  she  is  the 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


kind  of  American  woman  one  likes   foreigners  to  see;   she 
looked  so  dainty  in  a  lovely  lilac  linen  gown. 

At  8.30  Monday  morning,  we  were  received  by  an  old 
Japanese  nobleman,  formerly  a  prominent  statesman;  some- 
one interpreted  for  him,  so  the  conversation  was  not  thrilling. 
Tea  was  served  and  the  old  fellow  handed  me  a  bouquet  of 
roses;  then  we  left  the  European  room  in  which  we  had  talked, 
and  went  into  the  loveliest  Japanese  reception-room  which 
opened  on  the  garden.  Oh!  how  beautiful  this  latter  was.  I 
should  have  loved  to  remain  in  it  for  hours. 

We  have  not  had  a  successful  time  shopping;  ready-made 
clothes  are  expensive,  besides,  they  don't  grow  them  for  peo- 
ple our  size.  We  went  into  a  very  pretty  department  store  in 
Tokyo,  not  nearly  as  large  as  ours.  The  floors  were  all  cov- 
ered with  matting  so  they  put  covers  over  our  shoes ;  the  Japa- 
nese slip  off  their  wooden  sandals  and  patter  about  in  their 
thick  stockings,  which  have  a  division  between  the  big  toe  and 
the  others.  You  can't  fancy  how  funny  it  sounds  in  railroad 
stations  and  on  the  pavements  to  hear  the  clattering  noise  these 
hundreds  of  flopping  shoes  make.  The  people  are  very  quiet 
and  well-behaved  and  their  curiosity  is  always  respectful ;  but 
when  I  tried  on  kimonos  it  was  too  much  for  them;  clerks 
and  shoppers  stood  at  attention  until  the  purchase  was  com- 
pleted. 

We  got  pretty  tired  of  Tokyo,  but  we  had  to  wait  until 
Prince  Arthur  of  Connaught  left,  before  the  British  Ambas- 
sador could  be  seen.  Mr.  Morris,  who  has  been  most  kind, 
arranged  an  interview  for  Dr.  Cook,  Dr.  McDowell  and  Will ; 
both  Ambassadors  have  promised  to  keep  us  informed  should 
they  get  news  of  Persia.  The  last  was  most  disquieting  but 
we  thought  we  had  better  get  on  to  Bombay  as  it  would  be 
easier  to  make  plans  there. 

10 


Glimpses  of  the  IslcDui  Kiiu/doiii 


Accordingly,  we  left  for  Kobe  on  the  27th,  fortunately  we 
had  already  caught  a  glimpse  of  Fuji,  for  the  morning  was 
too  cloudy  to  give  us  the  view  we  longed  for.  The  scenery 
most  of  the  way  was  very  fine,  mountains,  ocean,  bays,  and, 
everywhere,  rice  fields;  the  latter  were  all  flooded  and  were 
even  just  outside  the  houses,  yet  they  say  there  is  no  malaria 
in  Japan.  The  country  was  dotted  with  temples,  and  there 
were  many  hamlets  so  inclosed  with  trees  and  hedges,  I  should 
think  the  people  would  smother.  We  passed  through  Kyoto, 
but  unfortunately  could  not  stop,  for  it  is,  I  believe,  the  most 
interesting  city  in  Japan.  I  should  like  to  see  that  and  Nikko, 
and  that  would  be  enough  of  this  country  for  me,  as  there  is  a 
great  sameness  about  it.  Kobe  was  nothing,  but  we  had  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Morse  to  Mr.  Shea  of  the  American  Trading 
Co.,  a  man  Jack  worked  with,  and  he  was  most  attractive. 
We  also  looked  up  Mr.  Fraser,  a  Scotchman  we  crossed  with 
seven  years  ago,  little  thinking  when  he  asked  us  then  to  let 
him  know  if  we  went  to  Kobe,  that  that  place  would  ever  see 
us.    Mr.  F.  lunched  with  us  and  was  most  agreeable. 

The  boat's  departure  was  delayed  several  times,  but  we  got 
on  at  5  o'clock  p.  m.  and  sailed  at  daybreak,  Saturday.  We 
were  glad  to  get  back  on  board,  and  it  was  very  nice  to  be  most 
cordially  greeted  by  these  excellent  servants.  Our  fellow- 
passengers  are  very  agreeable — no  bores  who  insist  on  weary- 
ing you,  but  everyone  takes  care  of  himself.  We  are  rather 
running  to  diplomats;  besides  the  two  Ambassadors  in  Tokyo, 
we  got  to  know  the  Swedish  Minister  and  his  family,  and  now 
we  have  met  the  Italian  Minister  to  Siam  and  his  mother  who 
is  English  and  a  sister-in-law  of  the  late  Lord  Pauncefote, 
Ambassador  to  America  (Hay-Pauncefote  treaty,  you  re- 
member). 


II 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


Monday,  July  ist. — Yesterday,  a  fog  detained  us  for  sev- 
eral hours  after  we  started,  but  we  resumed  our  voyage  about 
12.30  and  such  a  glorious  treat  in  the  way  of  scenery  I  have 
rarely  had  as  in  this  Inland  Sea.  There  are  hundreds  of 
islands,  all  sizes,  and  with  picturesque  rocks,  and  beautifully 
green.  There  were  only  a  few  villages  to  be  seen,  but  dozens 
and  dozens  of  fishing-boats  with  square  sails.  About  5.30  we 
neared  Nagasaki  which  we  left  at  12  to-day,  and  a  more  won- 
derfully beautiful  harbor  I  have  never  seen,  unless  it  be  that 
of  Naples.  We  ought  to  have  gone  ashore  last  night  as  there 
was  a  picturesque  temple  and  a  fine  view;  but  neither  of  us 
felt  energetic.  Will  went  in  this  morning  and  found  the  place 
uninteresting,  but  helped  out  his  meagre  tropical  wardrobe 
with  some  silk  shirts.  It  is  going  to  be  so  frightfully  hot 
from  now  on.  I  should  have  liked  one  week  in  Japan  to  spend 
as  I  pleased ;  but  that  I  think  would  be  enough.  I  have  trav- 
elled so  much  and  done  such  a  lot  of  conscientious  sight-seeing, 
I  find  my  enthusiasm  is  somewhat  worn  out.  I  have  enjoyed 
meeting  people  from  other  countries,  and  have  heard  a  great 
deal  of  interesting  conversation;  but  as  this  letter  has  to  pass 
two  censors,  there  is  no  use  passing  it  on.  This  is  by  no  means 
a  pleasure  trip,  as  was  our  last  wonderful  visit  to  the  Orient, 
so  I  find  it  quite  impossible  to  write  anything  interesting.  I 
can  only  hope  that  all  of  you  who  read  this  letter,  will  l>e 
lenient  and  will  try  with  your  own  imaginations  to  fill  in  the 
unwritten  voids. 

Lovingly 

Katewill. 

P.  S.  Fancy  my  forgetting  our  earthquake  which  was  a 
very  respectable  one.  One  evening  in  Tokyo,  at  10.50  p.  m. 
just  as  we  were  about  to  retire,  the  door  began  to  shake.     I 

12 


Glimpses  of  the  Island  Kingdom 


thought  it  very  extraordinary  in  this  muggy,  rainy  season,  a 
sudden  wind  should  spring  up;  then  the  windows  rattled,  and 
finally  when  the  electric  lamps  swung,  Will  and  I  simultane- 
ously exclaimed  :  "  An  earthquake!  "  For  a  minute  the  house 
rocked  quite  violently,  and  the  sensation  w^as  like  being  on  the 
deck  of  a  steamer  during  a  storm.  Our  chief  sensation,  how- 
ever, was  that  of  curiosity,  so  there  was  no  place  for  fear. 
The  next  morning,  our  table  boy  assured  us,  it  was  only  a  little 
earthquake ! 


13 


LETTER  III 

FROM  SHANGHAI  TO  HONG  KONG 

Hong  Kong, 
July  II,  1918. 
Dear  Nannie  : — 

I  mailed  you  a  letter  from  Shanghai  where  we  spent  a 
couple  of  days.  We  stopped,  if  you  please,  at  the  Astor  House, 
and  a  very  poor  hotel  it  was.  The  city  was  quite  lively,  with 
good  but  very  expensive  shops,  and  many  fine  residences. 
One  afternoon  we  drove  out  to  St.  John's  University,  a  lovely 
place  with  fine  grounds.  Mr.  Pott,  the  President,  was  a  class- 
mate of  Will's,  but  unfortunately,  he  was  not  at  home.  Be- 
fore this,  we  were  very  pleasantly  entertained  by  a  friend  of 
Dr.  Cook,  the  representative  of  the  U.  S.  Steel  Co.,  and  it  cer- 
tainly was  nice  to  dine  at  a  home  table  once  more. 

When  the  time  came  for  our  departure  from  Shanghai,  and 
we  and  a  large  number  of  bags  were  put  into  a  ramshackle 
little  cab,  we  expected  to  reach  our  steamer  in  a  few  minutes, 
but  the  driver  and  the  groom  who  always  goes  along,  mis- 
understood directions  and  took  us  to  the  R.  R.  station.  Will 
shrieked  "  Katori  Maru  "  Nippon,  Yusen  Kaisha,  the  name  of 
our  boat  and  Company.  Naturally  they  did  not  understand, 
so  I  hit  on  the  idea  of  yelling  "  Hong  Kong  boat." — Well,  for 
one  hour  and  a  half  those  celestials  drove  us  about  Shanghai. 
I  think  we  passed  through  red  light,  white  light,  and  no  light 
districts,  asking  the  Sikh  policemen  who  understood  no  Eng- 
lish and  invariably  sent  us  in  the  wrong  direction.  We  hesi- 
tated to  go  back  to  the  hotel,  as  we  feared  it  was  miles  away. 

14 


From  Shanghai  to  Hong  Kong 


Finally  we  reached  a  boat,  dismissed  the  cab  and  proceeded  to 
go  on  board,  when  we  discovered  it  was  not  our  boat  at  all. 
Fortunately  there  were  jinrikishas  handy  and,  with  a  pack  of 
howling  coolies  clamoring  for  more  pay,  we  finally  piled  in 
the  bags  and  reached  the  "  Katori "  and  our  somewhat  wor- 
ried friends. 

The  next  morning  at  7.30,  seventeen  Parsis  came  on  board. 
They  said  flattering  things  to  Will  and  we  told  them  how  nice 
we  thought  they  were.  Then  they  presented  me  with  a  beau- 
tiful basket  of  flowers,  gave  Will  a  bouquet,  took  our  pictures 
and  departed.  It  was  a  pleasant  incident,  and  reminded  us  of 
India  seven  years  ago. 

It  took  us  from  Friday  to  Monday  to  get  here  to  Hong 
Kong.  If  Nagasaki  harbor  is  lovely,  this  is  one  of  the  grand- 
est I  have  ever  seen;  there  is  an  outer  harbor  and  an  inner, 
with  mountains  all  around.  The  town  is  built  at  the  base  and 
on  the  side  of  a  high  mountain  called  The  Peak,  the  view  from 
which  is  superb. 

We  are  at  a  very  comfortable  hotel,  and  electric  fans  keep 
us  alive.  Not  that  the  heat  is  so  unbearable,  but  the  humidity 
is;  walking  with  any  comfort  is  quite  out  of  the  question,  so 
we  are  forced  to  turn  to  the  human  horses.  Another  vehicle 
is  added  to  our  list  here, — a  chair  on  poles  borne  by  two  bear- 
ers on  their  shoulders.  I  dislike  the  motion  very  much.  We 
went  up  to  Government  House  to  write  our  names  in  the  book. 
Such  an  ideally  situated  residence!  The  Governor  and  Lady 
May  are  at  present  in  their  summer  home  on  the  Peak,  and 
we  have  been  invited  by  them  to  luncheon  to-morrow.  Our 
Consul  and  his  wife,  very  agreeable  people,  are  to  be  there. 

To-day,  we  took  a  motor  ride  around  part  of  the  Island; 
we   went   through    several    villages,    simply    swarming   with 

15 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


humanity,  and  in  addition,  there  were  loads  of  people  on  dirty 
little  house-boats.  But  the  scenery,  the  combination  of  sea 
and  mountains,  was  very  grand.  In  cooler  weather,  it  must 
be  delightful  here,  for  the  place  is  attractive  even  now. 

Three  Parsis  called  at  once  on  us,  and  if  our  boat  does  not 
sail  till  Sunday,  Will  is  to  speak  to  them  Saturday ;  they  are  all 
so  crazy  to  hear  about  their  own  religion.  To  prevent  us 
from  feeling  life  is  all  "beer  and  skittles",  we  have  both  had 
to  go  to  a  dentist.  Heaven  knows  what  his  bill  will  be,  as  the 
prices  here  are  fearful,  and  one  could  not  blame  too  much  any- 
one who  would  take  a  good  whack  at  a  stranger.  A  hair  cut 
costs  60  cts.  the  cheapest  umbrella  Dr.  Cook  could  find  was 
$8.00.  A  serge  suit  that  cost  about  $22.00  in  Tokyo,  cost 
$45.00  here,  and  so  it  goes.  The  money  is  curious, — Mexican 
dollars,  which  are  worth  between  83  cts.  and  88  cts.  Ex- 
change varies  daily,  and  people  are  growing  rich  on  it.  An- 
other annoying  thing  is,  that  the  small  money  of  Shanghai  is 
no  good  at  Hong  Kong,  and  every  time  you  change,  you  lose. 

Friday,  July  12. — Luncheon  to-day  at  "Mountain  Lodge", 
the  summer  residence  of  the  Governor,  was  very  delightful. 
We  went  up  in  the  cable  train,  and  then  were  carried  for  about 
fifteen  minutes,  up  hill.  My  men  were  the  only  ones  that  had 
to  rest.  So  very  mortifying!  The  view  from  the  top  is  won- 
derful beyond  words,  and  we  had  a  perfect  day.  An  aide  met 
us  at  the  door,  and  immediately  told  us  where  we  were  to  sit 
at  luncheon.  Then  we  were  received  in  the  drawing  room  by 
the  Governor  and  Lady  May.  He  is  very  good  looking  and 
quiet.  She  vivacious  and  perfectly  charming,  most  informal, 
and  with  the  delightful  art  of  putting  one  at  once  at  ease. 
Both  are  Irish.  There  were  nine  guests  besides  us,  and  I  sat 
at  the  Governor's  right.    Just  before  luncheon  was  over  (and 

16 


From  Shanghai  to  Hong  Kong 


a  mighty  good  one  it  was),  he  rose  and  raising  his  wine-glass 
said:  "The  King  and  the  President  of  the  United  States." 
Then  we  all  repeated  it  after  him.  I  told  him  I  loved  to  hear 
those  two  names  linked  together  and  he  said  something  com- 
plimentary. You  can't  think  how  kind  all  the  British  officials 
have  been  to  us,  to  say  nothing  of  private  individuals.  We 
have  already  received  an  invitation  to  visit  in  Burmah,  should 
we  return  in  a  leisurely  way. 

We  now  expect  to  leave  here  the  13th  or  14th  for  Bombay, 
touching  at  Singapore  and  Colombo.  Some  people  say  Bom- 
bay will  be  much  hotter  than  this,  some  think  not  so  hot.  I 
devoutly  hope  the  latter.  We  have  no  idea  what  our  plans  will 
be  after  reaching  Bombay,  as  others  and  not  we  will  decide 
them.  Of  our  present  hopes,  fears  and  anxieties  I  will  say 
nothing,  as  the  former  may  be  realized,  and  the  latter  out  of 
the  way.    Will  and  I  are  perfectly  well,  thank  Heaven. 

Will  had  a  long,  long  Parsi  visit  this  afternoon,  and  he  is 
having  another  now,  7  P.  M. ! !  Truly  he  is  revered  by  the 
followers  of  Zoroaster. 

I  hope  all  is  going  well  with  all  of  you;  there  is  no  use  ask- 
ing questions,  for  I'd  never  get  an  answer.  I  don't  know  when 
we  shall  receive  mail,  which  is  particularly  hard  on  the  men 
whose  wives  are  in  America.  Can't  you  fancy  what  the  chief 
occupation  of  this  wife  is?  Looking  after  her  husband's 
clothes.  Ten  minutes  after  we  arrived  here,  a  small,  quiet 
little  man  glided  in,  Sam  Cheong,  a  tailor,  and  the  same  figure 
has  been  gliding  in  and  out  of  our  room  at  the  most  inoppor- 
tune moments  ever  since.  Dressing  times  are  awful,  a  race 
between  clean  clothes  and  the  perspiration  which  so  quickly 
succeeds  in  ruining  them, — a  wild  search  for  collars  and  pre- 
cious white  ties,  which  we  got  at  the  loc  store  at  home,  and 


17 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


which  cost  75c  here.  My  own  clothes,  thanks  to  you,  are  ade- 
quate, and  tell  Gertrude  her  lovely  dress  began  its  seventh 
summer  to-day. 

Love  to  all 

from, 
Katewill. 

P.  S.     7.15  P.  M.  and  another  visit  from  the  inopportune, 
Sam  Cheong ! ! 


LETTER  IV 
SINGAPORE 

S.  S.  "Dunera" 

Singapore,  July  22,  1918. 
Dear  Nannie: — 

It  seems  about  a  month  since  we  left  Hong  Kong,  but  in 
reality  it  was  a  week  ago  yesterday !  The  day  before  we  left, 
Will  lectured  to  the  Parsis  in  a  part  of  the  dining-room. 
Afterwards,  tea  was  served  and  we  were  presented  with  huge 
bouquets  and  dismissed  with  "  three  cheers  for  Professor  and 
Mrs.  Jackson"! 

On  Sunday  morning  we  boarded  the  above  mentioned  ves- 
sel; a  delegation  of  Parsis  did  the  same,  bringing  more 
bouquets. 

There  is  a  very  sad  difference  between  this  boat  and  the 
"Katori",  but  we  had  heard  such  dreadful  accounts  of  her, 
we  think  she  is  a  little  better  than  we  expected.  The  discom- 
fort is,  however,  very  great  and  I  can't  bear  the  thought  of  a 
seven  day's  trip  to  Colombo,  particularly  when  the  element  of 
danger  is  not  entirely  lacking.  There  are  rumors  of  German 
raiders. 

Tuesday,  July  2Srd. — We  reached  our  dock  Sunday  about 
noon  and  were  greeted  by  a  Persian  gentleman,  a  Moham- 
medan, and  a  Parsi.  The  former  turns  out  to  be  a  very 
wealthy  man,  and  his  hospitality  to  us  knows  no  bounds.  He 
had  us  all  for  luncheon  Sunday,  took  us  in  his  motor  to  his 
bungalow  by  the  sea,  where  we  had  tea,  then  for  a  drive.  We 
passed  through  rubber  plantations  and  groves  of  cocoanut 
palms,  small  Chinese  villages,  (for  most  of  the  population  here 

19 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


seems  to  be  Chinese),  then  went  to  the  Botanical  Gardens 
where  we  saw  some  wonderful  plants,  among  others  a  high 
cockscomb  of  vivid  cerise  deepening  into  wine-color,  that  just 
fascinated  us.  Our  host  wanted  some  of  us  to  stay  in  hig 
bungalow,  but  we  thought  we  would  go  back  to  the  boat. — 
Such  a  night !  Our  cabin  was  stifling,  so  we  tried  sleeping  in 
our  chairs  on  deck,  and  hardly  slept  at  all.  Consequently,  we 
reconsidered  our  refusal,  and  four  of  us  have  come  to  this  de- 
lightful spot. 

A  large  lawn,  finished  off  by  a  balustrade,  leads  right  to  the 
beach,  and  a  stiff  breeze  has  been  blowing  ever  since  we  have 
been  here.  I  dearly  love  the  sea  when  I  am  on  terra  iirma, 
and  it  is  delightful  to  sit  here  on  our  broad  verandah  and 
watch  the  many  ships.  Everything  in  the  house  is  arranged 
with  a  view  to  keeping  cool,  so  it  is  something  of  a  problem 
to  me  to  know  how  I  can  dress  without  having  all  the  house- 
hold see  me.  The  servants  creep  up  so  softly,  they  scare  the 
life  out  of  me,  and  they  appear  at  all  of  the  doors. 

I  wish  I  could  fitly  describe  this  lovely  spot.  To-night, 
before  dinner.  Dr.  Cook,  Will  and  I  sat  on  a  bench  by  the 
water;  the  moon  will  be  full  to-morrow,  so  rose  early  and 
cast  a  brilliant  light  over  the  sea  and  land,  making  the  cocoa- 
nut  palms  look  especially  picturesque.  The  "  Southern  Cross  " 
was  on  hand,  and  though  it  is  not  a  very  brilliant  constella- 
tion, I  like  its  name  and  all  it  signifies,  tropical  evenings,  new 
surroundings,  etc.  So  I  greeted  it  cordially.  I  never  sup- 
posed I  should  see  it  again. 

Last  night  our  host  gave  us  a  wonderful  dinner  in  his  beau- 
tiful house  in  town.  We  went  at  six  but  dinner  was  not  served 
till  eight.  I  was  asked  to  go  upstairs  to  the  ladies,  who  were 
all  very  prettily  dressed  and  greeted  me  most  cordially;  a 
friend  of  the  hostess,  a  Parsi  lady,  spoke  English  and  Hin- 

20 


Singapore 

dustani,  so  she  did  the  translating.  I  expressed  great  admira- 
tion of  the  house  and  the  view,  and  was  immediately  told  it 
was  all  mine ! — I  don't  quite  know  what  I  should  do  with  it, 
one  of  the  largest  places  in  Singapore,  in  our  4x6  cabin  on 
the  "Dunera"!  These  poor  ]\Iohammedan  women  have  to 
live  the  most  secluded  lives  and  can  see  no  men  but  their  rela- 
tives. The  consequence  was,  this  bold,  bad  Westerner  dined 
with  fourteen  men,  without  any  feminine  support.  I  sat  next 
to  our  Consul-General,  a  very  nice  man,  whose  wife  called  on 
me  this  morning  at  one  of  the  hotels,  as  we  are  8  miles  from 
town  here ;  hence  the  call  there. 

Wednesday. — It  certainly  was  heavenly  here  last  night,  but 
one  is  never  to  have  everything  all  right.  Dr.  Cook  has  a 
feverish  cold,  and  I  am  having  trouble  with  a  tooth.  Should 
we  ever  reach  Bombay,  Dr.  Wanless  tells  me  I  shall  find  an 
excellent  dentist.  Dr.  W.  has  been  a  medical  missionary  in 
India  for  twenty-nine  years.  He  ranks  very  high  as  a  sur- 
geon and  among  other  feats  has  operated  six  thousand  times 
for  cataract.  He  is  a  very  nice  man,  and  yesterday,  Will  and 
I  brought  him  out  to  see  Dr.  Cook,  and  he  stayed  with  me  for 
luncheon.  Will,  Dr.  Cook  and  Dr.  McDowell  being  invited 
to  Government  House.  As  our  Consul  did  not  mention  me,  I 
was  not  bidden,  a  small  loss  as  far  as  the  entertainment  goes, 
but  I  was  sorry  not  to  see  the  house  and  grounds,  which  made 
a  great  impression  on  the  men.  To-day  we  have  lots  to  do 
and  "our"  car  is  waiting  for  us  now.  The  Consul  and  his 
wife  want  us  for  tea,  and  we  must  do  the  polite  to  our  host, 
then  there  are  other  calls,  and  shopping;  (Will  buys  collars, 
of  course,  at  every  port!)  It  is  hard  to  get  the  things  one 
wants;  for  instance,  Dr.  Cook  insisted  on  my  having  a  sun 
helmet  to  come  ashore  in  here,  and  I  could  find  only  one  in 
Hong  Kong.     Such  a  horror!    it  is  a  trial  to  wear  it.     Stop- 

21 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


ping  in  these  ports  for  several  days  reminds  me  of  week-end 
visits  at  home.  All  the  clothes  one  needs  have  to  be  left  be- 
hind as  they  won't  get  in  the  bag,  and  of  course,  an  extra  hat 
is  out  of  the  question.  Fancy  my  appearing  at  a  tea  in  a  sun 
helmet!  Such  an  extinguisher,  it  is  a  case  of  "cherchez  la 
f  emme  ". 

As  I  look  out  across  the  lawn  at  the  blue  ocean  and  the  sail 
boats  with  their  reddish  brown  sails,  it  is  hard  to  think  of  re- 
turning this  evening  to  that  awful  ship.  But  go  we  must.  It 
will  take  a  week  to  reach  Colombo.    May  we  get  there  safely ! 

Like  its  predecessors,  this  is  a  stupid  letter,  but  it  will  at  least 
let  you  know  what  we  are  doing.  I  have  not  time  to  describe 
to  you  the  many  nice  English  people  we  have  met;  the  spirit 
of  the  women  is  superb,  for  without  exception,  they  have  all 
lost  some  one  dear  to  them.  We  have  already  received  most 
cordial  invitations  to  visit  in  various  places,  and  given  in  a 
very  genuine  way. 

I  do  hope  you  are  all  well.  We  have  of  course,  heard  from 
no  one.     Love,  much  love  to  you  all, 

from 
Katewill. 


22 


LETTER  V 

CEYLON  TO  BOMBAY 

Hotel  "Taj  Mahal". 
Bombay 

August  12,  191 8. 
Dear  Nannie: — 

It  seems  strange,  after  seven  years,  to  be  again  writing  you 
from  Bombay  and  this  hotel.  We  got  here  on  the  sixth,  sixty- 
six  days  after  leaving  New  York ! 

Of  Ceylon,  I  had  only  a  glimpse  of  Colombo  for  a  day,  com- 
bined with  a  visit  to  the  lovely  seashore  at  Livinia ;  the  rest  of 
our  journey  through  the  Island  had  to  be  made  at  night.  The 
next  place  we  stopped  at  was  Aladura  in  Southern  India. 
There  is  a  very  celebrated  Hindu  temple  there  which  we  found 
most  interesting.  There  are  several  high  and  very  elaborately 
carved  towers,  sort  of  gateways,  and  below,  long,  mostly  dark 
passages,  with  many  carved  gods  and  goddesses,  before  w'hom 
the  people  prostrate  themselves,  rubbing  oil  from  the  figures 
on  their  foreheads — the  same  with  the  dust.  We  had  a  guide 
and  were  followed  by  two  or  three  dozen  curious  Hindus, 
many  of  whom  begged.  While  I  was  looking  at  something, 
Dr.  Cook  exclaimed:  "What  next!  look  IVIrs.  Jackson!"  I 
turned  my  head,  and  there,  two  feet  from  me,  was  a  big  ele- 
phant, who  gracefully  picked  up  a  coin  which  he  handed  to 
his  keeper. 

We  stayed  half  a  day  in  Madura,  and  left  at  midnight  for 
Tanjore,  to  see  another  temple.  I  think  it  was  one  of  the 
loveliest  things  I  ever  saw  in  my  life.  The  first  glimpse  of 
the  mud  walls  of  the  moat,  with  a  gorgeous  flamboyant  tree 

23 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


(bright  scarlet  blossoms)  here  and  there,  delighted  us,  but 
when  we  saw  the  gateways  and  towers  of  the  temple,  far  less 
grotesquely  carved  than  those  of  Madura,  and  passed  into 
the  court,  we  were  fascinated.  Before  the  principal  tower 
there  was  a  huge  granite  bull,  in  front  of  which  was  a  bronze 
pillar  with  several  small  bells ;  the  musical  sounds  they  emitted 
when  swayed  by  the  breeze  and  the  songs  of  the  birds  were  the 
only  noise.  The  place  was  quite  empty,  except  for  a  few  tem- 
ple servants,  and  with  its  soft  coloring,  which  blended  so  beau- 
tifully with  trees  and  sky,  it  formed  a  never-to-be-forgotten 
picture.  I  spent  there  the  most  restful  hour  I  have  ever  known 
in  India. 

Tanjore  possesses  one  of  the  finest  Sanskrit  libraries  in  the 
world — such  a  quiet  spot  in  which  to  work.  I  wished  Will 
could  have  frequent  access  to  such  a  place.  The  librarian  had, 
of  course,  heard  of  him  and  was  delighted  to  make  his  ac- 
quaintance. We  started  out  to  do  our  sight-seeing,  in,  I  think, 
the  one  carriage  Tanjore  possessed.  After  many  narrow  es- 
capes, this  vehicle  collapsed  altogether  and  we  had  to  take  to 
bullock  carts,  squatting  most  uncomfortably  in  this  small  cov- 
ered conveyance.  That  was  once  when  the  Jacksons  did  not 
travel  together,  as  no  bullock's  back  could  stand  dragging  both 
of  us! 

As  we  had  not  been  able  to  make  reservations,  we  had  to 
travel  second  class  to  Madras;  each  carriage  was  supposed  to 
provide  sleeping-space  for  two,  but  in  reality  some  two  thou- 
sand wingless  beasts  rode  free,  and  we  supplied  them  with 
meals!  Such  a  night  we  had,  and  for  two  days  afterwards, 
we  kept  each  other  informed  as  to  our  finds. 

We  had  a  day  in  Madras,  a  place  prominent  commercially  I 
believe,  but  not  especially  interesting,  so  I  was  glad  to  get  on 
another  train,  this  time,  in  a  first-class  compartment.     It  took 

24 


Ceylon  to  Bombay 


us  about  forty  hours  to  get  to  Bombay,  and  the  trip  was  de- 
Hghtfully  cool. 

Think  of  us  being  back  here  after  seven  years,  and  this  time, 
under  such  changed  conditions.  Then  we  were  quite  inde- 
pendent and  carefree,  with  new  clothes  and  plenty  of  enthu- 
siasm. Now,  w^e  are  not  independent,  my  clothes  leave  much 
to  be  desired,  and  as  one  Parsi  woman  said  to  me :  "  You  look 
quite  different! " 

However  obscure  W.  may  be  in  other  parts  of  the  world, 
he  is  a  big  man  in  Bombay,  and  we  are  always  on  "  dress- 
parade".  There  is  someone  the  day  through,  knocking  at  the 
door — card  after  card,  message  after  message,  until  I  am 
almost  frantic.  Visitors  used  to  come  right  up,  but  we  have 
tried  to  stop  that.  The  endless  procession  of  servants  we 
cannot  stop,  so  it  is  impossible  to  get  any  rest.  The  hotel  has 
many  officers  here  on  leave.  No  one,  I  think,  is  here,  who  is 
not  in  some  way  concerned  in  the  war.  The  atmosphere  is  not 
depressing,  however,  and  an  orchestra  plays  twice  daily.  The 
other  night  there  was  dancing,  and  the  beautiful  waltzes  were 
too  much  for  us.  Many  pounds  heavier  though  we  be,  we 
danced  till  the  orchestra  ceased. 

Our  life  here  is  one  round  of  business  and  social  engage- 
ments. One  afternoon  we  were  entertained  by  a  wealthy  Per- 
sian, a  connection  of  our  Singapore  friend.  His  house  was 
beautiful,  with  a  huge  drawing-room  on  both  floors,  and  large 
marble-tiled  verandahs  on  both  sides  of  these  rooms.  It  was 
a  Mohammedan  household  so  our  host  took  me  upstairs  to  the 
ladies  of  whom  there  were  several.  My  hostess  was  sweet 
and  spoke  a  little  English.  One  of  her  relatives  spoke  perfect 
English  so  I  got  along  all  right.  This  latter  played  son^e 
weird  Oriental  music  for  me  on  a  Persian  instrument  called  a 
sitar;  she  had  a  fistful  of  diamonds  on  her  breast  that  prob- 

25 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


ably  cost  several  years  of  my  Professor's  salary,  and  she,  as 
well  as  the  other  ladies,  was  beautifully  dressed  in  their  pretty 
native  costumes. 

After  leaving  Madras,  I  broke  out  into  an  ugly  rash,  so 
went  to  see  a  Parsi  doctor  at  his  hospital.  He  did  not  take  in 
at  first  who  Will  was,  but  when  it  dawned  on  him,  such  enthu- 
siasm! When  I  came  back  into  his  office  from  the  dressing- 
room,  he  said  to  me :  "I  did  not  know  your  husband  was  the 
great  Professor  Jackson!"  Of  course,  he  would  take  no 
remuneration.  We  went  out  another  day  and  had  tea  with 
him  and  his  wife. 

One  afternoon.  Sir  Dorabji  and  Lady  Tata  gave  a  reception 
for  us  in  this  hotel,  which,  by  the  way,  they  own.  They  were 
going  to  Poona  the  next  day  for  the  rest  of  the  season,  and  as 
the  house-keeper  and  most  of  the  staff  of  servants  had  left. 
Lady  Tata  apologized  for  not  having  us  at  her  house.  The 
Tatas  are  among  the  great  merchant  princes  of  the  East  and 
are  enormously  wealthy  and  very  charitable. 

The  lecture  was  a  great  success.  It  did  seem  as  though  we 
must  be  back  in  191 1,  except  that  another  hall  was  used,  for 
everything  else  was  the  same.  Mr.  Warden,  a  very  dear  old 
Parsi  friend,  came  for  us  in  his  car,  and  as  soon  as  Will  and 
I  entered  the  hall  the  audience  of  one  thousand  broke  into  ap- 
plause. My  heart  sank  at  seating  my  ugly,  enormous  self  on 
the  platform,  but  there  was  no  help  for  it,  and  tell  Gertrude, 
after  seven  years,  her  dress  again  got  stared  at  by  hundreds 
of  eyes.  The  only  hat  I  could  find  here  was  a  large  pink  one ! 
Did  you  ever  hear  of  anything  so  girlish?  I  used  to  think  a 
husband  must  feel  horribly  mortified  when  his  ugly  old  wife 
put  on  youthful  garments ;  but  bless  you !  my  dear  man  was 
daft  about  that  hat.    But  to  return  to  more  interesting  matters. 

The  High  Priest  presided,  as  Sir  Jamshedji  Jeejeebhoy, 

26 


Ceylon  to  Bombay 


the  leading  Parsi  here,  was  unavoidably  late.  He  and  Lady  J. 
came  in  later  and  she  put  garlands  on  us  and  gave  us  each  a 
bouquet  to  the  intense  enjoyment  of  the  audience.  There 
were  then  "  three  cheers  for  Professor  and  Airs.  Jackson," 
and  hundreds  cheered  us  as  we  drove  away. 

We  told  every  one  we  were  going  away  for  a  few  days,  as 
really  the  demands  on  us  here  are  very  great,  and  we  are  very 
tired.  For  instance,  Will  worked  till  4  a.  m.  the  other  night 
and  at  8.30,  the  first  caller  came — a  Hindu  who  "  had  an  axe 
to  grind  ".  The  telephone  man  thinks  Will  must  be  very  busy, 
for  every  one  is  asking  for  Professor  Jackson. 

You  remember  our  so  often  mentioning  Mr.  Wilson,  the 
banker,  an  old  friend?  Well,  he  gave  us  a  beautiful  dinner 
at  the  Yacht  Club.  One  of  the  guests  is  the  cathedral  organist, 
with  photography  as  his  hobby,  and  we  went  after  dinner  to 
his  rooms  where  he  showed  us  some  wonderful  photographs 
of  India,  from  which  he  had  made  lantern  slides. 

Tomorrow  Will  is  lunching  with  our  Consul— a  very  agree- 
able man  from  Tennessee.  Our  plans  are  not  yet  made, 
though  we  may  be  able  to  go  to  Persia  shortly.  In  these  war 
times,  the  difficulties  of  travelling  are  almost  insurmountable ; 
in  our  own  case,  matters  are  complicated  by  having  to  cable 
for  instructions. 

Dr.  Judson  is  not  yet  here  and  a  good  many  official  things 
will  have  to  be  attended  to  by  him.  The  other  day  the  Gov- 
ernor-General of  Bombay,  Lord  Willingdon,  received  Dr. 
Cook  and  Will  most  informally;  they  were  delighted  with 
him  and  he  was  most  kind.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  very 
popular. 

I  sometimes  feel  very  apprehensive  about  the  future;  dan- 
ger, of  course,  there  will  be— and  my  one  great  prayer  is,  that 
I  will  not  have  to  let  Will  go  without  me.     We  are  getting 

27 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


restless  here,  and  I,  with  my  meagre  wardrobe,  am  put  to  it  to 
know  what  to  wear.  The  dressmakers  are  all  busy,  but  yes- 
terday, we  found  a  Hindu  store  where  I  ordered  a  dress.  You 
should  have  seen  Will  and  me  poring  for  over  an  hour  over 
some  funny,  antiquated  English  fashion  magazines.  I  don't 
know  what  the  result  will  be ! 

To-day  Bombay  is  beflagged  to  celebrate  the  successes  on 
the  Western  Front,  so  I  have  hung  out  our  flag — blessed  piece 
of  bunting !  Two  of  the  young  members  took  me  to  the  movies 
the  other  night  while  Will  was  at  a  dinner,  and  they  were  as 
happy  as  children  because  the  feature  was  made  in  America. 

I  have  written  this  letter  under  all  sorts  of  difficulties,  so 
please  forgive  all  faults.  I  do  hope  the  Committee  in  New 
York  has  kept  you  informed  of  our  whereabouts.  We  have 
not  the  slightest  idea  when  we  shall  be  able  to  start  for  home, 
nor  do  we  know  where  letters  will  reach  us,  as  we  may  or  may 
not  get  to  Teheran.  Perhaps,  Care  of  American  Consul, 
Bombay,  will  be  the  best  address,  though  this  is  no  longer  the 
last  civilized  place  in  these  parts.  We  are  told  the  British  have 
done  wonders  in  Mesopotamia.  The  country  has  produced 
an  enormous  crop,  and  Baghdad,  if  you  please,  is  lighted  by 
electricity !  I  believe  the  next  undertaking  will  be  water-pipes. 
One  certainly  must  admire  the  British  for  the  way  they  man- 
age things  out  here. 

I  forgot  to  tell  you  the  weather  is  much  cooler  than  it  was 
in  April  191 1,  and  we  do  not  suffer  at  all  from  the  heat;  last 
August  was  infinitely  worse  in  America!  This  is  the  rainy 
season,  but  unfortunately  very  little  rain  has  fallen — a  ter- 
rible calamity. 

Well  I  really  must  stop  this  rambling  letter.  Ever  so  much 
love  for  you  all,  from, 

Katewill. 


Ceylon  to  Bombay 


Postscript  en  route  to  Simla,  Aug.  21 — 1918. — Since  writ- 
ing the  above  letter  things  have  hummed.     Will  came  home 
just  after  I  finished  it,  with  the  news  that  cables  had  come 
from  New  York,  from  the  Committee  for  Relief  in  the  Near 
East,  and  also  from  Persia — that  our  departure  in  the  near 
future  for  Baghdad  had  been  arranged,  and  that  three  of  us 
had  been  invited  to  the  Viceregal  Lodge  at  Simla.    That  was 
only  four  days  ago  and  we  are  tired  out  with  what-  we  have 
done  since.     Sunday,  Will  lunched  with  our  Consul,  Mr.  Lup- 
ton,  who  is  a  shrewd,  agreeable  fellow  and  has  worked  like  a 
Trojan  to  help  us.    In  the  afternoon,  some  people  came  to  tea 
with  us  and  afterwards  we  went  to  service  at  the  Cathedral, 
which  I  enjoyed  very  much.     Will's  first  appointment  Mon- 
day was  at  8.30,  but  before  then,  a  note  came  from  Gen.  St. 
John,  embarkation  officer,  inclosing  a  telegram  arranging  for 
a  business  interview  wnth  Sir  William  'Marshall,  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief of  the  forces  in  Mesopotamia.     There  was 
also  an  invitation  to  luncheon  at  the  Yacht  Club  to  meet  Her 
Excellency,  Lady  Willingdon,  wife  of  the  Governor  of  the 
Bombay  Presidency.     She  is  young,  good-looking,  and  very 
affable;  told  me  her  father  was  Lord  Brassey  and  seemed 
pleased  I  had  read  "  The  Voyage  of  the  Sunbeam  ".     She  told 
Will  she  was  sorry  we  had  not  time  to  go  and  stay  with  them 
at  Poona,  where  they  are  now  residing. 

Will  foolishly  sat  up  all  night,  trying  to  finish  an  address 
for  a  Parsi  meeting,  then  could  not  do  so.  He  was  very  tired 
yesterday  yet  we  had  to  leave  at  2.20.  Mr.  Wilson  got  us  a 
servant,  a  Goanese  named  John  Simon  Anthony,  with  a  pleas- 
ant smile  and  no  sense.  I  had  to  see  people  till  10.30  then  took 
a  cab,  bought  a  trunk  and  other  necessaries  and  began  pack- 
ing and  repacking  with  John's  meagre  aid ;  such  a  morning  I 
hope  never  to  live  through  again,  and  we  just  caught  the  train 

29 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


by  three  minutes!  One  other  man  is  with  us  and  I  think  we 
shall  all  feel  relieved  when  our  viceregal  visit  is  over.  The 
summer  capital  is  Simla  and  we  thought  it  might  be  necessary 
to  go  there,  but  never  dreamed  of  having  to  visit.  It  is  forty- 
eight  hours  from  Bombay  and  we  must  return  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. Conditions  in  Persia  are  awful.  Dr.  Shedd  (whom 
we  met  once  at  the  Yohannans)  and  several  others  have  died 
of  cholera.  I  had  not  expected  to  do  much  active  relief  work, 
for  Will  was  sent  for  work  of  a  different  kind;  but  now  we 
shall  probably  have  to  do  any  and  everything  and  at  the  very 
greatest  risk.  The  British  officials  have  been  wonderful  to  us, 
and  I  have  found  them  very  attractive;  some  of  them,  whom 
we  have  met  in  India,  I  am  looking  forward  to  meeting  again 
in  "  Mespot "  Well,  we  are  in  for  it  and  must  do  our  best. 
Worlds  of  love  to  you  all, 

from, 
Katewill. 

P.  S. 

Dr.  Cook  is  ill,  so  Will  is  now  temporary  Chairman. 


30 


LETTER  VI 

AT  THE  VICEREGAL  LODGE,  SIMLA 

Viceregal  Lodge, 
Simla. 

August  22, — 1918. 
Dear  Nannie  : — 

It  all  seems  too  wonderful  to  be  true!  We  had  to  change 
cars  at  5.45  a.  m.,  and  the  decent  dress  I  had  in  my  bag  could 
not  be  put  on  just  before  we  reached  Simla,  for  there  were 
two  men  in  the  compartment  besides  Will.  So  the  two  aides 
who  met  us  had  to  put  up  with  my  old  clothes.  As  the  train 
stopped,  a  servant  in  scarlet  came  to  the  window,  and  we  got 
out  of  the  car  and  were  met  by  two  very  agreeable  aides.  We 
then  got  in  jinrikishas  drawn  by  two  men,  and  pushed  by 
two  others,  up  a  very  steep  hill  to  the  Lodge,  a  big  place. 
Servants  galore  and  a  major-domo  stood  like  statues,  while 
our  panting  rikisha-men  dashed  up  to  the  entrance.  We  had 
luncheon  with  the  aides  and  were  then  shown  to  our  rooms,  a 
beautiful  suite;  two  bed-rooms,  two  baths,  drawing-room,  and 
all  so  wonderfully  comfortable.  It  seemed  like  Paradise  to 
me  after  eighty-two  days  of  steamers,  trains,  hotels  (mostly 
poor),  dirt,  and  heat,  to  get  into  this  heavenly  place  with  its 
cool  air,  and  this  palace,  with  truly  "  every  comfort  of  home  ". 

After  a  little  rest,  we  dressed  and  came  down  to  tea.  The 
aide  said  four  o'clock,  not  earlier,  and  what  was  our  horror 
to  see  Their  Excellencies  going  down  before  us,  while  the  serv- 
ants waved  like  mad  for  us  to  hurry.  I  ran  after  Will,  who 
had  gone  after  Mr.  Vaile,  and  we  tore  panting  into  the  draw- 
ing-room.    I  was  so  flustered  when  I  met  Their  Excellencies, 

31 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


my  curtsies  went  completely  to  pieces  and  did  not  look  a  bit 
like  what  I  intended  them  to  be.  Such  a  simple  kindly  greet- 
ing, and  the  next  minute  I  was  telling  Lady  Chelmsford  to 
make  my  tea  any  way,  but  to  make  Will's  weak.  His  Excel- 
lency asked  if  I  would  like  to  go  to  a  purdah  party  with  Lady 
C,  they  call  it  keeping  purdah  when  the  women  can't  see  any 
men  but  their  relatives.  Our  hostess  at  this  party  was  the 
daughter-in-law  of  a  native  ruler  and  stood  at  the  foot  of  the 
steps  to  greet  Her  Excellency,  garbed  in  the  most  beautiful 
costume.  Her  young  son,  also  gorgeously  attired,  helped  his 
mother. 

She  gave  us  garlands  of  orange  blossoms  when  we  entered 
the  house,  and  my  hostess  (Lady  C.)  introduced  me  to  every 
one  as  we  moved  forward.  On  the  way  back  she  asked  me  if 
I  would  not  like  to  get  out  of  the  rikisha  and  walk  somd, 
which  we  did,  passing  trees  full  of  monkeys.  Lady  C.  was  so 
sweet  about  my  being  tired,  for  the  journey  was  hard,  and 
told  me  to  be  sure  and  rest  before  dinner. 

To  our  intense  delight,  our  old  friends  from  Quetta,  the 
Brays,  are  here;  he  is  at  present  private  secretary  to  the  Vice- 
roy, who  likes  him  extremely,  we  are  told.  So  before  we 
came  here  we  had  "  friends  at  Court ". 

August  23. — I  wish  you  could  have  been  at  the  dinner  last 
night ;  needless  to  say,  /  never  attended  such  an  one.  Printed 
cards  were  sent  both  Will  and  me,  with  the  names  of  the 
guests  (some  twenty  had  been  invited  to  meet  us)  and  a  plan 
of  the  table.  We  all  assembled  in  one  of  the  drawing-rooms 
before  8.10,  and  promptly  at  8.15  two  servants  drew  aside 
some  large  curtains,  and  the  aides  announced  in  loud  tones: 
"  Their  Excellencies  ".  They  greeted  those  not  of  the  house- 
hold, passing  quickly  around,  while  each  of  the  ladies  curtsied. 
Then  H.  E.  offered  his  arm  to  a  lady,  the  Foreign  Secretary 

32 


At  the  Viceregal  Lodge,  Simla 


took  me  in,  and  while  the  orchestra  played  "  God  Save  the 
King",  we  went  into  a  very  large  dining-room.  Will  sat  at 
Her  Excellency's  left,  and  I  sat  at  his  left.  They  both  talked 
a  lot  with  us,  and  he  talked  to  me  most  interestingly  of  India, 
his  hopes  and  wishes  regarding  it.  Just  at  the  close  of  the 
meal,  he  rose,  all  doing  the  same,  and  raising  his  glass,  said : 
"The  King-Emperor,"  everybody  repeating  it  after  him. 
Then  Her  Excellency  left  the  table  and  at  the  door,  looked  at 
her  husband  and  made  a  very  deep  curtsey — each  lady  did 
the  same,  and  maybe  I  was  not  scared  as  to  what  I  should  do. 
I  knew  if  I  went  too  low,  Fd  fall  down  and  they  would  have 
to  get  a  derrick  to  haul  me  up.  I  lived  through  it,  anyhow, 
right  side  up.  After  the  gentlemen  came  in  to  the  drawing- 
room,  the  aides  arranged  it  so  that  each  one  had  a  few  words 
with  Her  Excellency,  and  each  lady  with  the  Viceroy.  Also 
the  ladies  staying  at  the  Lodge  had  different  men  brought  up 
to  them.  My  first  was  Sir  Charles  Cleveland,  Head  of  the 
Intelligence  Department.  I  was  having  a  most  interesting 
time  with  him,  when  an  inexorable  aide  brought  up  His  Ex- 
cellency, the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  army  in  India.  He 
was  an  old  dear,  and  the  aide  let  me  have  him  for  quite  a  little 
while,  before  the  next  man,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Best  was  doomed  to 
provide  conversation  for  me.  Their  Excellencies,  on  retiring, 
shook  hands  with  all,  the  ladies  curtseying ;  he  said  to  me :  "  I 
do  hope  you  will  rest  well,  for  you  must  be  very  tired",  and 
she  said :  "  Now  get  a  good  rest  and  don't  come  down  till 
noon". 

Before  8,  Will  brought  in  an  invitation  from  the  Foreign 
Secretary's  wife.  Lady  Grant,  asking  us  to  luncheon  on  Sun- 
day. Shortly  afterwards  Her  Excellency  sent  me  a  note,  ask- 
ing if  I  would  like  to  drive  to  town,  and  while  we  were  at 
breakfast  her  daughter,  the  Hon.  Miss  Thesiger,  came  in  and 

33 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


paid  us  a  little  visit;  she  and  her  sister  are  dear,  and  a  pretty 
little  one,  about  eight,  is  one  of  the  brightest  children  I  have 
ever  met.  There  is  a  son  at  school,  but  the  eldest  son,  alas! 
was  killed  in  the  war.  They  are  certainly  a  charming  family. 
I  was  waiting  in  the  big  hall  downstairs  for  Her  Excellency, 
when  he  came  down,  came  towards  me,  shook  hands  (you'd 
roar  if  you  could  see  my  curtseys)  and  asked  how  I  had  rested. 
Then  she  came  down,  the  guard  presented  arms,  and,  preceded 
by  outriders  in  scarlet,  we  drove  in  a  victoria  to  town. 

There  are  only  three  carriages  allowed  in  Simla,  as  the 
road  (there  is  only  one)  is  so  narrow,  so  we  were  easily  seen, 
and  most  of  the  people  bowed  to  Lady  C.  We  went  into  a 
jewelry  store,  then  she  asked  me  if  I  wanted  to  do  any  shop- 
ping. I  said  I  wanted  gloves  badly  but  could  not  bother  her, 
but  she  said  she  loved  to  go  into  shops.  When  I  asked  about  a 
hat,  she  overheard  me,  and  took  the  keenest  interest — picked 
out  two  or  three,  and  finally  advised  me  to  get  one,  told  the 
girl  how  she  thought  it  ought  to  be  trimmed,  and  I  wore  it  this 
afternoon.  I  think  my  Seattle  confection  must  have  got  on 
her  nerves  and  this  is  a  real  true-for-true  English  one;  indeed, 
if  you  did  not  see  my  "made  in  America"  figure,  you  would 
scarcely  believe  my  ancestors  sailed  from  England  three  cen- 
turies ago. 

We  lunched  to-day  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bray  and  a  jolly  meal 
it  was !  Then  I  took  tea  with  one  Lady  Barnes,  and  Will  had 
an  interview  at  4.30  with  the  Commander-in-Chief.  He  is 
not  yet  back,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  for  he  is  as  tired  as  I,  and  that 
is  saying  a  great  deal.  How  he  has  worked !  particularly 
since  coming  to  India,  where  he  has  met  the  highest  and  most 
important  officials  in  the  land.  There  are  others  besides  me 
who  realize  what  this  Mission  owes  to  him.  It  was  very 
gratifying  to  hear  from  Mr.   Bray,   Their  Excellencies  had 


34 


At  the  Viceregal  Lodge,  Simla 


said  nice  things.  The  Viceroy  said  to  him :  "  This  visit  is  a 
success".  Mr.  Vaile,  a  young  Professor  of  AgricuUure  from 
CaHfornia,  has  been  most  helpful  and  efficient,  too.  Ever>'one 
is  marvellously  kind  and  obliging;  they  are  all  so  intensely 
grateful  for  America's  help  in  this  war,  they  cannot  do  enough 
for  Americans.  They  praise  President  Wilson  extravagantly 
and  they  think  what  America  has  accomplished  is  little  short 
of  a  miracle ;  it  is  far  above  what  they  hoped.  They  are  all 
charming  people  and  have  made  me  care  for  England,  as  I 
never  did  before. 

His  Excellency  said  to  stay  as  long  as  we  wanted,  but  Sunday 
we  return  to  Bombay  as  we  are  supposed  to  get  off  to  Baghdad 
very  shortly.  It  will  be  a  mad  rush,  coming  after  a  most 
fatiguing  railway  journey,  and  difficuhies  ahead  are  almost 
insurmountable.  You  have  no  idea  of  them  all,  and  some- 
times I  wonder  if  we  can  do  anything  at  all.  Truly  a  month 
from  now  life  will  be  a  different  proposition  from  what  it  is 

here. 

All  hands  are  rejoicing  (in  a  quiet  way)  over  our  successes 
in  the  West,  and  I  do  hope  the  tide  has  turned  at  last.  I  was 
reading  the  dispatches  in  the  hall  this  morning,  then  I  looked 
at  the  portraits  of  Queen  Victoria,  the  present  King  and 
Queen,  various  Viceroys,  and  above  all,  the  gorgeous  howdah 
in  which  Lord  Hardinge  was  seated  when  someone  tried  to 
assassinate  him. 

After  dinner.— The  same  ceremony  to-night  as  last  night, 
only  fewer  guests,  I  think.  We  again  sat  at  the  left  of  Their 
Excellencies.  He  is  delightful  and  talks  to  me  as  though  he 
thought  I  had  sense;  not  having  much,  I  am  particularly 
pleased.  In  speaking  of  the  South,  I  told  him  you  had  once 
said,  that  slavery  might  have  been  bad  for  the  white  man  and 

35 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


for  the  negro,  but  that  it  was  a  mighty  good  thing  for  the 
white  woman.    He  laughed  very  heartily. 

August  24. — This  morning  I  drove  into  town  with  the  two 
girls,  the  elder  of  whom  helped  me  to  choose  another  hat,  this 
time  a  soft  one  for  rough  winter  travel.  Luncheon  was  very 
informal.  His  Excellency  not  appearing,  but  I  sat  next  to  a 
particularly  nice  aide.  After  luncheon.  Her  Excellency  asked 
me  if  I  would  not  come  up  to  her  sitting-room;  such  a  home- 
like place.  Later,  Will  and  I  had  tea  with  the  Chief  of  the 
General  Staff  and  his  wife.  It  was  miles  away  and  we  drove 
for  a  time,  then  rikishas  took  us  down  the  hill  and  up  again — 
these  Simla  hills  are  awful!  Mr.  Vaile  had  an  interview  with 
H.  E.  as  the  aides  call  him  and  he  said :  "  Now  I  want  you  to 
tell  me  the  truth;  have  we  done  everything  you  want  us  to? 
Professor  Jackson  is  such  a  lovely  personality,  he  is  so  oblig- 
ing and  so  polite,  I  don't  know  whether  or  not  he  is  satisfied 
and  we  want  to  help  in  any  way  in  our  power  ".  They  are  so 
glad  our  Mission  has  arrived  just  at  this  time,  their  kindness 
is  amazing.  To-night  there  was  no  dinner  party,  just  the 
Brays,  no  formality,  no  dreadful  curtsey,  and  His  Excellency 
took  me  in.  It  did  seem  funny  to  be  taken  in  by  the  Viceroy 
of  India,  and  of  course  I  had  on  an  old  dress,  with  such  a 
narrow  skirt,  I  almost  had  to  skip  to  keep  up  with  his  long 
strides.  After  dinner  I  sat  for  a  long  time  on  the  sofa  with 
Lady  C,  and  later,  when  I  suppose  she  was  tired  to  death,  we 
went  in  and  looked  at  a  game  of  billiards. 

Bombay,  August  28. — Back  again  in  what  is  our  nearest 
approach  in  India  to  home!  Sunday  we  lunched  at  Simla 
with  the  Foreign  Secretary  and  his  wife.  At  tea,  we  were 
with  Their  Excellencies,  and  later  they  showed  us  the  throne 
room,  then  they  took  us  into  the  big  drawing-room,  pointed 
out  to  us  several  things  of  historical  interest,  and  he  walked 

36 


At  the  Viceregal  Lodge,  Simla 


up  and  down  to  converse  about  matters  with  Will  and  she 
talked  with  me  until  the  aide  announced  the  rikishas.  They 
went  to  the  porch  with  us  and  our  visit  was  over.  Perhaps 
this  very  detailed  account  of  it  may  bore  you  all,  but  we  en- 
joyed it  so  much  it  seemed  natural  to  write  of  it. 

Mr.  \\^arden  met  us  at  the  station  in  Bombay  and  we  were 
whisked  off  to  a  public  building  where  Will  was  presented  by 
some  Persian  Zoroastrians  with  an  illuminated  address  in  a 
beautiful  silver  casket.  The  whole  thing  was  nicely  done. 
The  gentleman  who  presented  it,  made  an  excellent  little 
speech  and  said  all  Zoroastrians,  whether  rich  merchants  or 
small  shopkeepers,  whether  cultured  or  illiterate,  knew  the 
name  of  Professor  Jackson.  We  were  garlanded,  given  big 
bouquets  and  came  to  the  hotel,  where  the  Consul  was  waiting 
for  us.  At  seven,  we  had  a  committee  meeting,  and  it  was 
nine-thirty  before  we  went  to  dinner.  I  told  Will  this  morn- 
ing, I  thought  this  trip  was  a  good  test  of  our  strength  and 
health — such  a  constant  rush,  no  chance  to  put  one's  things  in 
order.  Fortunately  the  sailing  date  of  our  boat  has  been  put 
off,  so  we  shall  have  two  full  days  here.  Both  of  us  are  in  the 
hands  of  the  dentist,  too!    Much  love  to  all 

from 
Katewill 


37 


LETTER  VII 

FROM  INDIA  TO  THE   MOUTH   OF  THE  TIGRIS   AND 
EUPHRATES 

Transport  "Egra" 
Mouth  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  rivers. 

Sept.  4,  1918. 
Dear  Nannie  : — 

Another  chapter  in  our  interesting  journey!  We  came  on 
board  thoroughly  tired  out,  for  we  began  our  last  day,  before 
nine,  with  inoculation  for  cholera,  and  it  was  four  the  next 
morning  when  our  lights  were  put  out !  It  was  a  great  Hindu 
holiday,  the  divine  Krishna  had  been  born;  and  the  streets 
were  filled  with  rows  of  almost  naked  men,  with  arms  inter- 
laced, dancing  in  a  slow,  measured  way,  chanting  as  they  did 
so.  Friday  Mr.  Wilson  came  to  say  good-bye  while  we  were 
at  breakfast,  and  at  ten-thirty,  after  all  the  luggage  ( 16 
pieces)  had  been  taken,  I  washed  my  hair!  It  was  only  par- 
tially dry  and  I  had  no  brush  and  comb  but  I  tucked  it  up 
under  my  topee  and  was  on  board  this  boat  at  ii.45- 

There  are  about  1700  souls  on  board,  and  I  am  the  only 
woman.  I  am  not  sure  whether  or  not  there  is  another  female 
for  I  have  not  asked  about  the  sex  of  the  cat!  There  are  only 
native  troops,  but  there  are  about  sixty-five  ofHcers,  some  of 
them,  very  nice.  The  Padre  (the  title  given  all  the  chaplains) 
is  a  Presbyterian  missionary  from  India;  a  kind,  genuine,  en- 
thusiastic fellow.  He  told  me  some  of  the  men  asked  who  I 
was,  and  said  it  was  almost  like  having  a  mother  on  board. 
Wasn't  that  nice?  Our  Captain  is  a  most  delightful  and  inter- 
esting man,  intensely  religious,  belongs  to  the  "  Plymouth 
Brethren",  a  sect  with  very  simple  ways,  but  besides  that,  he 

38 


From  India  to  the  Tigris 


is  well-read,  cultured  and  oh!  so  kind.     We  have  been  much 
in  his  room. 

Basrah  Sept.  5. — We  arrived  here  at  3.35.  A  terrific  wind 
was  blowing  and  just  as  hot  as  though  it  had  come  from  a 
furnace.  On  either  side  of  the  river,  there  is  some  vegetation, 
chiefly  date  palms,  varying  from  quite  a  narrow  strip  to  a  mile 
and  a  half ;  beyond  that  is  desert.  The  sun  is  perfectly  pitiless 
and  shines  down  with  terrific  power  over  this  shadeless  spot, 
and  everywhere  you  see  nothing  but  sand  and  more  sand,  so 
you  may  imagine  what  the  glare  is  like. 

Last  evening  some  of  the  officers  invited  us  to  dinner;  their 
quarters  were  in  the  former  German  Consulate,  and  a  launch 
was  sent  to  take  us  there  as  it  was  some  distance  from  our 
boat.  The  General  was  a  very  delightful  man  who  had  held 
extremely  important  positions  in  England  and  South  Africa, 
but  I  was  so  tired  from  the  heat  and  the  inevitable  standing- 
around  of  landing-day,  that  I  was  glad  to  come  back  to  the 
boat.  It  seemed  strange  to  be  returning  on  the  Tigris  from 
a  dinner  party !  As  there  are  no  hotels  here,  they  had  us  sleep 
on  board,  to  our  great  relief,  as  we  dreaded  such  accommo- 
dations as  we  might  have  had  to  put  up  with  on  shore. 

This  morning  an  officer  came  with  three  cars  to  take  us  for 
a  drive.  It  is  quite  marvellous  what  the  British  have  done 
here.  They  have  filled  in  land,  have  built  (of  mud  bricks 
chiefly)  many  storehouses  and  war-hospitals,  and  have  con- 
structed also  docks  and  railroads.  There  are  of  course  thou- 
sands of  tents  and  laborers  galore  of  almost  all  the  races  of 
the  Orient.  We  got  out  and  walked  through  the  Ijazaar  and 
market  place  and  found  them  pretty  clean  and  free  from  the 
awful  odors  of  such  places  in  China.  The  Arabs  look  very 
stately  in  their  flat  round  head-dress  and  long  flowing  cloaks 
— but  the  women  and  children  were  anything  but  good-look- 


39 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


ing.  Many  of  the  former  were  veiled  but  in  some  instances 
the  veils  were  of  black  lace  which  permitted  one  to  notice  the 
absence  of  beauty.  The  people  seem  to  take  kindly  to  having 
the  British  here,  and  after  the  Turks,  you  can  easily  fancy 
such  would  be  the  case.  The  change  from  Turkish  to  Indian 
money  was  accomplished  with  absolutely  no  difficulty,  we  were 
told;  and  the  people,  who  have  a  sense  of  humor,  are  easy  to 
get  along  with.  It  does  one  good  to  see  a  place  in  the  hands 
of  the  British;  there  is  always  an  improvement. 

As  this  is  the  station  from  which  every  thing  is  sent  further 
into  Mesopotamia,  you  can  fancy  how  busy  it  is — no  loafing 
natives  here,  I  can  tell  you ! 

This  afternoon  we  are  to  be  put  on  a  river  steamer  and  sent 
up  to  Baghdad.  It  will  take  us  six  or  seven  days  to  get  there, 
and  I  dread  the  monotony,  particularly  as  I  believe  we  are  to 
be  the  only  passengers. 

There  are  seven  of  the  Commission  here,  two  have  gone 
on,  and  Dr.  Judson  and  two  others  are  to  arrive.  It  seemed 
so  hard  to  have  Dr.  Cook  break  down ;  I  miss  him  dreadfully, 
and  there  is  no  one  who  can  in  any  way  take  his  place. 
Whether  rest  and  fresh  air  will  make  him  well  enough  to  come 
on  in  the  spring  remains  to  be  seen.  I  hope  so  for  his  sake, 
although  I  trust  by  that  time  our  faces  will  be  turned  home- 
wards. 

So  far  we  have  had  no  hairbreadth  escapes,  and  no  unbear- 
able heat :  electric  fans  are  used  everywhere,  and  we  have 
arrived  here  late  enough  to  escape  the  worst  heat.  From  Bom- 
bay we  have  been  guests  of  the  British  Government,  the  mili- 
tary authorities  looking  out  for  us  in  the  most  delightful  way. 
We  have  met  so  many  charming  officers,  gentlemen  born  and 
bred,  and  very  cultured,  some  of  them.  In  travelling  we  have 
also  met  some  who  have  risen  from  the  ranks,  and  there  is  a 

40 


From  India  to  the  Tigris 


difference;  but  the  English  aristocracy  has  paid  a  fearful 
death  toll  in  this  war,  and  new  officers  must  be  had — every- 
one however  has  been  most  kind  to  us. 

We  left  Bombay  for  ""Mespot"  just  three  months  to  a  day 
from  the  time  we  left  New  York,  and  not  a  line  have  we  had 
from  home;  mails  are  so  irregular!  I  do  hope  all  is  going 
well  with  you  all  at  home.     Much  love, 

from 

Katewill. 


41 


LETTER  VIII 

UP  THE  TIGRIS  RIVER 

On  the  Tigris, 
Sept.  9,  1918. 
Dear  Nannie: — 

Again  I  am  the  only  woman  on  a  troopship!  We  got  on 
board  a  hospital  ship  Thursday  evening  and  were  most  com- 
fortable ;  I  had  a  cabin  to  dress  in  and  we  slept  on  deck  behind 
canvas.  The  whole  upper  deck  was  open,  with  two  rows  of 
beds,  one  above  the  other.  These  boats  bring  sick  soldiers 
down  from  Baghdad  and  go  back  empty  save  for  the  crew, 
two  nurses  and  a  stray  officer  or  two.  The  doctor  was  a  nice 
young  Scotchman,  the  Captain  and  engineers  were  very  agree- 
able, and  one  of  the  nurses  I  liked  very  much.  So  I  was  sorry 
when  an  accident  to  the  paddle  wheel  delayed  the  boat  and  they 
put  us  on  this  little  steamer.  We  are  not  nearly  so  comfort- 
able and  the  other  boat  seemed  almost  a  home,  with  the 
nurses;  however,  there  are  some  agreeable  officers  on  this  and 
they  have  done  their  best  to  make  me  comfortable. 

One  of  the  men  is  a  Captain  Washington,  same  family  as 
our  immortal  George ;  he  is  very  much  of  a  gentleman.  This 
is  an  old  boat,  but  most  of  them  have  been  recently  built  in 
England  and  sent  out  from  there  under  their  own  steam — 
even  the  penny  river-boats  came  out  that  way.  The  river  is 
very  shallow  in  places,  so  the  freight  is  put  on  large  barges, 
one  on  each  side  of  the  boat,  which  also  serve  as  buffers  when 
the  bank  is  touched.  Up  to  Amara  there  were  a  good  many 
date  palms  and  occasionally  the  scene  was  picturesque. 
Through   the    Narrows    (a    narrow    stream    indeed!)    Arab 

42 


up  the  Tigris  Riz'cr 


women  and  children  ran  along  the  banks  with  li\e  chickens, 
fish,  and  eggs  for  sale;  so  there  was  a  little  diversion.  Since 
then,  there  have  been  no  date  palms  and  the  scenery  is  monoto- 
nous in  the  extreme. 

We  stopped  at  Ezra's  tomb,  which  makes  an  extremely 
pretty  picture.  It  is  a  small  building  with  a  dome  of  blue  tiles 
set  in  an  enclosure  with  several  date  palms.  The  interior  is 
decorated  with  Hebrew  verses  and  right  under  the  dome  is 
the  sarcophagus,  which  looks  like  a  huge  wooden  cupboard, 
covered  with  turkey-red  and  chintz.  It  appears  quite  Moham- 
medan, but  I  believe  it  is  visited  by  Jewish  pilgrims. 

The  Arabs  along  the  banks  with  their  many  animals  at- 
tract the  eye.  They  all  get  such  a  vast  amount  of  enjoyment 
out  of  this  dirty  river,  bathing  themselves  and  their  animals, 
and  drinking  it.  The  heat  is,  to  me,  almost  unbearable  during 
the  day.  The  strong  hot  wind  fairly  scorches  one,  and  on  a 
boat  there  is  no  refuge  from  it.  The  nights,  on  the  contrary, 
are  now  delightful  and  nothing  can  exceed  the  beauty  of  the 
sky  and  river  during  the  hour  after  sunset.  The  minute  the 
sun  goes  dow^n,  the  air  cools  off,  just  as  on  the  contrary,  the 
sun  no  sooner  rises  than  its  heat  is  unpleasant.  From  nine 
o'clock  on,  its  power  is  terrific,  and  perfectly  merciless,  as 
there  is  not  a  cloud  in  the  sky. 

I  don't  believe  any  nation  but  the  British  would  have  stood 
this  place;  and  what  they  have  accomplished  out  here  is  mar- 
vellous. I  have  not  been  thrown  with  the  Tommies,  but  the 
officers  do  not  grumble,  and  they  all  seem  very  keen  about 
their  work.  I  have  learned  out  here  to  have  a  tremendous 
amount  of  respect  for  them  and  they  have  all  been  so  nice 
to  me,  I  should  be  a  queer  freak  if  I  did  not  like  them.  Many 
a  tale  has  been  poured  into  my  ear,  and  it  makes  me  very  happy 
to  feel  it  has  been  given  to  me  to  come  out  here,  where  women 

43 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


are  so  few  and  far  between.  I  am  very  proud  too,  to  have 
them  all  turn  to  Will  for  information  about  Persia  and  Cen- 
tral Asia.    He  knows  more  than  most. 

To-day  we  are  to  reach  Kut  and  take  the  train  there  for 
Baghdad.  At  home  it  seemed  strange  to  think  of  going  to  all 
these  places,  but  en  route  I  have  met  so  many  who  have  been 
to  them  and  one  talks  so  much  of  them,  it  seems  quite  natural 
to  be  going  one's  self.  I  do  not  know  in  the  least  what  plans 
will  develop  for  us ;  at  present,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  we 
are  a  part  of  the  British  army. 

Baghdad,  Sept.  ii. — This  is  mail  day,  so  I  must  close  this 
hurriedly.  Just  arrived — in  the  city  of  Haroun  Al  Rashid ! 
Both  well  and  interested  in  everything.    Love  to  all, 

from 

Katewill. 


44 


LETTER  IX 
IN  BAGHDAD 

Baghdad,  Sept.  i6,  1918. 
Dear  Nannie  : — 

I  had  to  close  my  last  letter  very  abruptly  as  the  mail  was 
just  going  out.  We  had  time  to  go  about  Kut-el-Amara,  one 
of  the  places  that  played  an  important  part  in  this  war.  We 
went  to  General  Townshend's  Headquarters  and  got  a  view 
from  the  roof  of  the  little  mud-brick  town,  the  only  pretty 
feature  of  which  was  a  small  minaret.  The  Turks  used  it  for 
an  observation  tower,  but  it  got  hit  and  toppled !  The  cemetery 
was  well  kept,  but  unfortunately  only  a  few  names  of  those 
buried  there  are  known.  The  town  itself  is  clean.  What  a 
change  the  British  have  made  in  this  country !  At  Kut  as  else- 
where we  met  such  nice  officers;  I  can't  tell  you  what  a  de- 
lightful impression  these  men  have  made  on  us.  I  told  one  of 
them  yesterday  I  thought  Englishmen  must  make  good  hus- 
bands, for  they  had  all  been  so  thoughtful  and  kind  to  me. 

We  came  by  rail  from  Kut  to  Baghdad  and  were  met  by 
two  officers  and  a  motor  and  taken  to  the  Civil  Commissioner. 
We  arrived  early  enough  to  be  received  by  him  in  his  pajamas; 
but  after  apologizing,  being  very  much  a  man  of  the  world,  he 
was  quite  as  much  at  ease  as  I. 

We  are  at  the  best  hotel  here  and  I  wish  you  could  see  it. 
It  has  not  one  modern  convenience,  and  the  furniture  is  in  an 
advanced  state  of  decay;  but  there  is  a  huge,  good-looking 
rug  on  the  floor,  and  the  meals  are  very  fair.  Our  host  has 
been  in  America,  for  which  country  he  professes  profound 
admiration,  and  he  has  told  the  servants  to  be  as  helpful  as 

45 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


possible,  and  they  are.     They  are  all  Chaldeans,  one  of  the 
many  Christian  sects  here. 

Baghdad  is  the  hottest  place  I  ever  was  in,  and  yet  the 
officers  tell  us  the  great  heat  is  over.  With  the  thermometer 
in  one's  room  112°,  one  wonders  what  summer  must  be  like. 
There  is  no  breeze  and  without  an  electric  fan  you  can  fancy 
what  the  heat  is  like,  even  at  night.  All  the  guests  sleep  on 
the  roof,  but  being  the  one  woman,  I  have  to  stay  in-doors. 
Will,  of  course,  stays  too.  The  city  is  dusty  beyond  words 
and  there  are  no  pavements  as  there  is  neither  wood  nor  stone ; 
in  fact  there  is  nothing  but  sand,  date-palms  and  two  very 
shallow  rivers  in  this  land :  nothing  grows  without  irrigation, 
and  that  is  still  of  the  most  primitive  description. 

Motors  are  owned  only  by  the  Government  and  are  very 
scarce.  We  have  had  two  drives,  both  to  see  mosques.  One 
morning  we  went  to  a  neighboring  village;  the  head  man,  a 
dignified  old  Arab,  invited  us  into  his  home,  let  us  take  a 
photograph  from  the  roof  and  gave  us  coffee  and  cigarettes. 
Two  of  our  party  talked  Turkish  with  him,  and  Will  managed 
some  Persian.  The  number  of  languages  in  the  Orient  is  per- 
fectly appalling. 

We  lunched  this  same  morning  with  Sir  William  Marshall, 
the  Commander-in-Chief.  His  drawing-room  looked  so  clean 
and  was  so  cool  with  electric  fans,  it  was  a  treat  to  be  there. 
The  dining-room  too,  was  delightful,  and  a  delicious  luncheon 
served  by  capable  Hindus  in  their  neat  white  clothes,  was  a 
great  treat.  I  am  afraid  I  like  the  "flesh-pots  of  Egypt" — 
and  of  Mesopotamia!  It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  be  thrown  so 
constantly  with  these  delightful  English  gentlemen ;  yet  I  like 
my  own  sex  too,  and  for  that  reason  was  most  glad  to  meet 
Miss  Bell  who  is  in  the  Political  Office  here,  and  remarkably 
intelligent.    She  told  Will  his  "  Persia,  Past  and  Present "  had 

46 


In  Baghdad 

been  her  constant  companion  in  Persia  and  she  had  known  it 
for  a  long  time.  It  is  in  great  demand  here,  and  neither  here 
nor  in  India  is  there  a  copy  to  be  had — a  crying  shame ! 

One  day  two  young  officers  got  a  launch  and  took  us  to 
Ctesiphon,  where  there  is  a  very  beautiful  ruined  arch,  nearly 
fourteen  centuries  old.  Our  boat  was  dreadfully  slow  and  we 
took  a  long  time  to  go,  and  a  longer  time  to  return,  not  reach- 
ing home  until  1.30  a.  m. !  All  the  boats  stick  in  the  mud  of 
this  dirty,  shallow  river.  With  the  thermometer  well  above 
100  in  the  shade,  we  walked  about  half  a  mile  to  the  arch  and 
found  it  very  interesting.  Will,  of  course  was  in  his  element 
and  had  some  enthusiasts  with  him.  I  did  my  best,  but  the 
heat  was  tremendous  and  the  flies  maddening.  There  is  a  tiny 
fly  here  called  the  sandfly;  not  a  gnat  like  ours,  but  a  most 
active  insect  that  apparently  lights  only  on  human  flesh  and  it 
has  stung  us  so,  we  are  covered  with  bites.  To  return  to  the 
arch.  It  is  in  the  middle  of  a  huge,  desert  plain,  the  most 
God-forsaken  spot  now  you  can  possibly  imagine.  There  w^as 
a  battle  there  betw-een  the  Turks  and  British  and  there  are 
many  bodies  buried  there,  which  have  been  dug  up  by  jackals 
and  Arabs  and  reburied  more  than  once. 

Tuesday. — Sunday  a  nice  young  Major,  whom  we  met  at 
Kut,  was  told  off  to  take  us  to  Baqubah.  where  they  have  a 
camp  for  the  refugees  from  the  mountains  of  Northwestern 
Persia;  they  are  Armenians  and  Syrians,  very  ignorant  peas- 
ants. The  military  have  organized  a  splendid  camp  and  want 
our  Relief  Commission  to  co-operate.  At  present  a  part  of 
the  w^ork  may  be  done  there  instead  of  in  Persia.  One  cannot 
for  a  moment  forget  here  that  a  great  war  is  on.  Baghdad  is 
a  big  camp  and  we  are  all  a  part  of  the  army;  our  plans, 
therefore,  are  vague.  Some  of  us  may  shortly  get  into  Persia 
to  take  supplies,  or  we  may  have  to  wait  awhile.    I  should  be 

47 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


glad  to  get  into  a  cooler  climate.    Last  night  was  so  hot,  I  felt 
as  though  I  could  almost  cut  the  heat  in  my  room. 

We  had  a  very  interesting  afternoon  to-day.  In  the  little 
public  garden,  Sir  William  Marshall  held  a  reception  in  honor 
of  some  eighty  Arab  Sheiks.  All  Baghdad  was  there,  even 
Arab  ladies  with  their  black  lace  veils,  which  really  do  not  hide 
their  faces  at  all.  There  were  scores  of  Baghdadis  in  Euro- 
pean clothes  and  fez ;  then  a  lot  of  older  men,  among  them  our 
old  friend  of  the  village,  who  entertained  us  the  other  day. 
He  got  up  at  once  and  shook  hands  with  us.  At  five,  General 
Marshall  came,  walking  through  two  rows  of  Hindu  troops, 
who  held  lances  and  pennants.  The  band  of  course,  played 
"  God  save  the  King  ".  The  General  went  up  on  a  high  large 
platform,  where  there  was  a  sofa  between  two  arm  chairs  and 
he  sat  on  the  former.  Will  and  I  were  the  first  guests  to  be 
presented.  We  marched  boldly  along  the  platform;  and  I  do 
not  believe  it  was  necessary  for  the  hundreds  below  to  use 
their  opera  glasses  to  see  us !  After  we  took  our  places  on  an- 
other sofa,  others  were  presented  and  then  came  the  Arab 
chiefs,  a  very  dignified  looking  lot.  They  shook  hands  with 
the  General  and  took  their  places  down  in  the  front  row  below 
the  platform  while  the  General  delivered  a  little  speech  in 
English.  It  was  afterward  read  in  Arabic.  This  part  of  the 
ceremony  over,  an  aide  came  and  said  General  Marshall  would 
like  to  talk  with  us,  so  W.  and  I  had  a  pleasant  little  chat  with 
him.  He  is  a  charming  man,  a  soldier  every  inch  of  him, 
and  I  always  enjoy  meeting  him.  We  gave  place  to  the  Grand 
Rabbi,  a  very  picturesque  looking  old  Jew.  I  shall  always  re- 
member this  afternoon,  with  the  various  groups  of  Orientals 
in  their  native  dress,  flags  and  pennants  everywhere,  a  Hindu 
band  playing  Occidental  music,  and  on  all  sides,  these  splendid 
British  officers,  representative  of  a  great,  progressive  Power 


48 


In  Baghdad 

which  is  gradually  bringing  civilization  to  this  country.  I  do 
wish  we  had  Ted  and  Jack  with  us  to  show  them  a  fine  type 
of  young  American  manhood;  but,  alas,  "It's  a  long,  long 
way  from  the  banks  of  the  Seine  "  and  Potomac  to  the  banks 
of  the  Tigris! 

Wednesday. — One  week  here  to  day!  It  has  been  a  very 
interesting  one,  but  oh!  so  hot.  To-day  we  lunch  with  a  Gen- 
eral, take  tea  with  Lloyd  George's  son-in-law,  and  dine  with 
the  Military  Governor.  Will  has  to  see  another  general  on 
business  this  morning.  It  is  rather  too  much,  I  am  afraid, 
particularly  as  we  went  to  the  Consulate  last  night  and  did 
not  get  home  early.  Our  Consul  is  very  nice  even  though  his 
name  is  Heizer ! 

Of  course,  we  still  have  had  no  news  from  home.  How 
glad  I  shall  be  to  get  back  there,  for  one  gets  tired  of  living 
in  trunks  and  being  always  on  the  go.  I  do  hope  you  are  all 
well.    Much  love  to  all, 

from 

Katewill. 


49 


LETTER  X 

BAGHDAD  CONTINUED 

Baghdad,  Sept.  29,  1918. 
Dear  Nannie  : — 

Here  we  are  still  in  this  dust  heap  and  we  are  likely  to  'be 
here  some  time  longer.  Dr.  Judson  arrives  in  Basrah  this 
week  and  it  will  take  several  days  to  get  from  there  here,  as 
one  has  to  go  part  of  the  way  by  water;  at  present  the  Tigris 
is  very  low  and  boats  spend  more  time  sticking  in  the  mud 
than  going.  So  there  is  nothing  to  do  but  be  patient.  The 
others  who  are  with  us  have  settled  at  the  refugee  camp  at 
Baqubah  where  they  are  working  with  the  military  authorities. 
These  latter  are  doing  everything,  and  can  do  so  very  much 
better  than  civilians;  one  is  also  handicapped  in  these  present 
circumstances  by  not  speaking  the  language.  Some  of  the 
missionaries  with  us  know  Syriac,  Turkish  and  Armenian,  so 
they  are  in  great  demand.  The  refugees  are  mostly  very 
ignorant  and  behave  accordingly,  but  one  of  the  officers  here 
tells  me  the  Belgian  refugees  he  saw  were  about  the  same.  In 
the  meantime  the  glorious  news  we  are  getting  from  all  the 
fronts  is  a  splendid  tonic.  Just  think  of  the  drubbing  the 
Turks  have  had  in  Palestine!  We  all  hope  it  will  have  an 
effect  on  them  in  Persia.  The  officers  here  are  most  optimistic 
about  Germany,  and  the  Commander-in-Chief  said  last  night, 
he  thought  we  could  make  our  own  peace  terms  when  the  time 
comes. 

Speaking  of  Sir  William  Marshall,  he  invited  us  very  in- 
formally to  dinner  last  night ;  only  the  archaeologist  Miss  Bell 
— a  dear  woman — who  is  now  in  the  Political  Office,  our  Con- 

50 


Baghdad  Continued 


sul,  who  is  very  nice  and  a  gentleman,  thank  God !  and  one 
aide.  Afterward  Will  lectured  for  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  to  a  big 
audience,  on  Persia,  and  Sir  William  introduced  him.  I  was 
just  a  little  proud  to  have  my  man  introduced  by  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief in  Mesopotamia,  and  lecture  to  hundreds  of 
British  soldiers.  Afterwards  we  went  back  to  the  General's 
house  for  a  sandwich.  One  night  a  couple  of  years  ago.  I 
think  it  was,  he  was  giving  a  dinner;  a  telegram  was  handed 
him  and  after  reading  it,  he  put  it  under  his  plate  and  con- 
tinued to  entertain  his  guests  in  his  charming  way;  finally 
when  alone  with  an  aide,  he  said :  "  Thank  God  they  have  all 
gone!  I  have  just  received  a  dispatch  telling  me  my  son  has 
been  killed  ".  He  spoke  so  sadly  last  night  of  the  toll  Death 
had  taken  of  the  British. 

To-day  I  began  Persian  lessons.  I  tried  to  get  a  teacher 
earlier  for  I  need  even  now  some  knowledge  of  the  tongue. 
Our  servant,  Mehdi  Khan,  speaks  Persian,  Arabic  and  Turk- 
ish. Will  manages  with  the  former  but  I  have  an  awful  time, 
and  the  little  fellow's  pantomimic  efforts  only  serve  to  conceal 
his  thoughts  from  me.  Mr.  Heizer  has  lent  us  some  brass 
buttons  and  stars  and  stripes  epaulettes,  and  Mehdi  is  beam- 
ing. The  fact  that  this  elegance  is  put  on  a  dirty  white  suit 
does  not  in  the  least  mar  his  joy,  though  it  somewhat  dims 


mme 


Every  now  and  then  it  strikes  us  as  unreal  that  we  should 
be  'way  out  here.  It  seemed  strange  for  instance,  Sunday 
morning,  to  go  to  an  English  service  at  eight  and  step  out  into 
a  street  crowded  with  a  motley  Oriental  lot,  in  their  various 
costumes.  The  better  class  women  wear  an  "aba",  a  vol- 
uminous silk  cloak,  chiefly  pink.  They  have  them  in  all  colors 
and  so  many  of  the  officers  have  bought  them  for  their  wives, 
the  price  has  gone  up  tremendously;  the  doors  of  the  New 

51 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


York  Opera  House  would  have  to  be  widened  if  I  attempted 
to  pass  through  in  an  "  aba  ",  so  there  is  no  temptation  to  buy. 

When  the  Turks  evacuated  Baghdad,  they  blew  up,  very 
kindly,  a  lot  of  houses  to  effect  their  retreat,  and  the  debris, 
when  removed,  left  the  one  fairly  wide  thoroughfare  in  the 
city;  the  English  call  it  New  Street.  The  old  streets  are  only 
seven  or  eight  feet  wide,  so  that  the  sun  cannot  get  anything 
of  a  chance  at  them.  They  are  fairly  clean;  at  any  rate  the 
British  have  forced  each  household  to  have  an  incinerator  for 
burning  garbage  and  trash,  and  the  number  of  flies  has  been 
greatly  reduced  in  consequence.  I  took  Will  to-day  through 
some  of  the  narrow  streets  to  the  French  Convent  to  call  on 
the  sisters.  Six  of  these  dear  souls  received  us  in  the  most 
charming,  hospitable  way  and  formed  a  contrast  to  the  almost 
strictly  military  society  we  have.  These  nuns  keep  a  school, 
train  native  children  to  earn  a  living,  and  they  do  embroidery, 
dressmaking,  and  even  washing.  No  wonder  when  the  Turk- 
ish Government  ordered  their  expulsion  the  Military  Governor 
refused  to  obey,  for  he  said  they  were  too  useful. 

I  shall  continue  by  saying  what  a  delight  it  was  to  receive 
your  letter,  dated  Savannah,  June  30.  It  is  the  first  letter  we 
have  had  from  America.  You  know  how  mail  is  delayed. 
Joy  at  hearing  has  been  ever  since  in  our  hearts. 

^         !(;         5|c         :|s         *         >i; 

[Inserted  postscript  by  A.  V.  W.  J. — I  am  doing  the  scribe 
act  as  Kate's  right  hand  is  out  of  commission  through  an  acci- 
dent, and  she  found  she  was  not  ambidextrous  enough  to  write 
with  the  left.  The  accident  happened  through  dropping  a  soda 
water  bottle  which  she  was  placing  on  the  washstand  just  after 
her  Persian  teacher  had  left  after  giving  her  a  lesson  yester- 
day morning.    The  bottle  struck  another  which  broke  with  an 

52 


BagJidad  Continued 


explosion,  inflicting  a  deep  gash  in  her  right  wrist.  We  for- 
tunately obtained  a  doctor  in  a  few  minutes;  he  took  her  at 
once  to  the  Central  Dispensary  to  the  surgeon. 

Most  happily  on  examination,  he  found  that  what  seemed 
to  be  a  dangerous  cut,  turned  out  to  be  a  very  painful  wound, 
severe  enough  to  require  stitching — which  she  bore  like  a 
soldier,  magnificently.  In  spite  of  the  abundant  flow  of  blood, 
no  artery  was  cut  and  no  nerves  severed.  So  it  was  accounted 
a  lucky  escape;  and  with  Kate's  inimitable  spirit  she  was  re- 
ceiving calls  from  two  military  friends  an  hour  later,  one  of 
whom  came  to  ask  her  and  me  to  luncheon  (a  charming  Col- 
onel he  is)  and  we  both  enjoyed  the  impromptu  occasion. 
Last  evening  there  was  a  guest  at  dinner,  and  this  morning, 
callers  after  she  returned  from  having  the  wrist  dressed.  So 
everything  is  going  most  favorably,  and  no  occasion  for 
worry.  (Just  this  moment  she  has  had  another  caller.  This 
time  a  Major.    So  you  see  w^hat  a  popular  hostess  she  is!) 

To-night  Kate  and  I  have  early  dinner  as  I  go  out  of  town 
some  seven  miles  to  lecture  on  Persia,  for  a  Cavalry  Brigade, 
and  am  invited  to  give  another  lecture  Friday.  Only  too  glad 
to  be  doing  a  little  bit  extra  besides  all  the  daily  routine  of 
work  connected  with  the  Commission,  which  is  a  busy  task. 

Kate  says  I  am  not  an  expert  hairdresser;  she  insists  that 
her  coiffure  looks  like  a  battlefield,  but  I  don't  agree  with  her 
as  I  think  it  is  very  becoming.  We  have  a  great  deal  of  fun 
about  the  morning  and  evening  toilet.  In  a  few  days  her 
ready  pen  will  be  in  trim  to  describe  it  all. 

The  news  continues  great;  we  have  just  heard  of  the  fall  of 
Damascus!     You  know  the  love  we  wish  to  give  to  all,  and 

tell  Lillie  so. 

Yours, 

Will.] 


53 


LETTER  XI 

DEPARTURE  FROM  BAGHDAD 

Baghdad,  October  8. 
Dear  Nannie: — 

Will  wrote  you  of  my  accident.  I  have  had  an  ugly  arm, 
but  fortunately  neither  the  artery  nor  the  nerves  were  cut  so 
now  I  am  decidedly  on  the  mend.  I  fell  into  the  hands  of  a 
delightful  young  surgeon,  a  Captain  Pim,  and  I  go  every  day 
to  have  the  wrist  dressed.  That  is  preceded  by  Will's  dress- 
ing me,  which,  as  you  may  imagine,  is  a  sore  trial  to  us  both. 

Dr.  Judson,  as  Director,  arrived  on  the  sixth  at  7.30  p.  m. 
That  did  us  out  of  a  dinner  to  which  we  had  looked  forward 
with  great  pleasure,  but  we  were  perfectly  delighted  to  have 
our  "  Chief  "  arrive.  He  is  extremely  nice,  very  capable,  clear, 
firm,  and  fortunately  comes  armed  with  authority.  I  am  so 
glad  to  have  Will  relieved  of  responsibility. 

October  10. — We  all  went  out  to  Baqubah  Monday.  It  is  a 
two  hours  motor  drive  over  a  perfectly  flat  plain  and  clouds 
of  dust  almost  choke  you.  The  only  things  one  meets  are 
donkeys  with  their  Arab  riders,  wagons,  and  sometimes  a 
string  of  camels;  occasionalliy  one  sees  a  camel  whose  travel- 
ling across  the  desert  has  come  to  an  end.  The  refugees,  Ar- 
menians and  Syrians,  are  pouring  in  by  thousands  and  are 
being  looked  after  as  well  as  possible.  Our  party  out  there 
are  providing  work  for  some  of  the  women, — a  part  of  whom 
spin,  and  others  make  garments  on  the  sewing  machines  we 
brought  from  Bombay. 

The  other  day  I  put  my  foot  on  a  post,  just  outside  of  the 
tent  where  they  work,  while  Will  tied  my  shoe  and  that  caused 

54 


Departure  from  BagJidad 


great  amusement.  These  ladies,  I  fancy,  do  not  receive  many 
attentions  from  their  husbands — indeed  when  possible,  the 
latter  have  ridden  their  donkeys  while  the  women  walked. 
You  will  never  have  the  right  kind  of  a  country  until  the 
status  of  women  is  what  it  ought  to  be,  though  these  people, 
of  course,  are  mostly  ignorant  peasants. 

I  have  so  regretted  that  Will  and  I  could  not  have  had  a 
home  here  in  which  to  receive  the  many  men  we  have  met; 
they  do  so  enjoy  seeing  a  lady,  even  an  old  one  like  me.  They 
are  delighted  to  have  the  "sisters"  (nurses),  but  of  course 
they  are  pretty  busy.  The  day  I  cut  my  wrist,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
van  happened  to  be  at  the  door  and  was  offered  us  at  once  to 
take  me  to  the  dispensary;  on  the  way  back,  when  I  spoke  to 
the  Tommy  who  was  driving,  he  said :  "  You  are  the  first  Eng- 
lish '  Laidy '  I  have  talked  to  in  a  long  time  and  it  has  cheered 
me  up  a  lot,  ma'am  ".  He  was  a  London  coachman,  and  prob- 
ably used  to  ladies. 

Four  weeks  yesterday  since  we  came  to  Baghdad !  They 
have  been  pretty  uncomfortable  weeks,  but  certainly  I  shall 
carry  away  many  pleasant  memories.  I  have  never  been 
served  with  such  really  loving  kindness  as  here — all  male  serv- 
ants of  course,  and  only  a  few  English  words  between  them, 
but  they  are  eager  to  wait  on  us.  So  is  our  own  particular 
Persian  one,  but  oh !  the  lack  of  language.  You  should  have 
seen  him  and  Will  the  other  evening,  with  rapt  expression, 
reciting  together  an  ode  of  Hafiz!  I.  in  the  meantime,  was 
thumbing  the  dictionary  to  say  my  shoes  must  be  cleaned. 

To-day  Will  is  at  Baqubah  and  I,  for  the  first  time  since 
leaving  home,  have  emptied  the  trunks !  I  explained  to  Mehdi 
Khan  as  well  as  I  could,  to  put  all  the  Sahib's  things  on  his 
bed,  and  my  things,  on  mine.  He  seemed  able  to  pick  out  the 
masculine  from  the  feminine  garments  pretty  well,  but  my 


55 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


corsets  were  a  puzzle — he  held  them  up  and  asked  if  they  be- 
longed to  the  Sahib! 

I  have  spoken  of  more  than  one  pleasant  memory  here,  and 
one  of  the  others  is  the  delightful  hospitality  these  charming 
officers  have  shown  us.  I  never  knew  more  attractive  men; 
their  manners  are  perfect,  their  interests  wide  and  varied,  and 
their  kindness,  wonderful.  We  have  been  to  three  dinners 
this  week  and  declined  another  invitation  and  these  entertain- 
ments help  mightily  to  pass  time  pleasantly  for  me.  Will,  of 
course,  has  a  great  deal  to  attend  to,  but  I  have  not,  so  I  am 
grateful  for  these  attentions.  There  are  a  few  civilians  here 
and  they  too  are  very  kind ;  one,  a  banker,  is  so  thoughtful  and 
generous.  Yesterday,  for  instance,  Will  went  ofif  after  lunch- 
eon with  the  key,  and  this  man  insisted  on  my  making  myself 
comfortable  in  his  room,  had  his  servant  put  cushions  at  my 
back  and  I  read  while  he  worked.  He  has  lent  me  a  chair  and 
books  and  been  so  courteous.  It  certainly  is  a  comfort  being  on 
the  threshhold  of  fifty;  you  can  quietly  enjoy  these  filial  civili- 
ties, knowing  no  one,  not  even  the  meanest  old  cat,  can  accuse 
anyone  of  wanting  to  flirt  with  you  nor  you  with  him. 

In  two  days  we  expect  to  start  for  Persia,  with  Teheran  as 
our  objective.  Dr.  Judson  has  divided  the  party,  taking  five 
of  us  with  him  and  leaving  the  others  for  relief  work  at  Baqu- 
bah.  We  are  going  in  two  Ford  motors  followed  by  ten  vans 
— six  of  us  of  the  "officer"  class,  and  fourteen  servants,  in- 
cluding, of  course,  the  drivers.  The  vans  will  be  sent  back 
here  for  more  materials.  It  will  be  strange  for  Will  to  go 
into  Persia  in  a  motor.  It  will  be  a  very  hard  drive,  for  the 
roads  are  not  smooth  boulevards,  but  the  saving  in  time  is 
great ;  one  can  get  from  here  to  Teheran  in  six  days.  I  don't 
know  how  long  it  will  be  before  we  turn  our  faces  homeward, 

56 


Departure  from  Baghdad 


but  Dr.  Judson  does  not  waste  time,  so  I  hope  we  shall  not  be 
out  here  indefinitely. 

To-day  Captain  Pirn,  my  surgeon,  and  Major  Stanley,  in 
charge  of  the  Red  Cross,  lunched  with  us.  The  latter  took  us 
through  his  place  the  other  day  and  it  fascinated  me.  It  is  a 
long  time  since  I  have  seen  such  a  well-stocked  store. 

Well,  it  will  be  hard  to  leave  these  dear  Baghdad  friends; 
some  of  them  we  shall  probably  meet  in  Persia,  and  should 
we  return  this  way,  many  of  them  will  be  here.  The  Turks 
seem  to  be  so  very  near  the  end  of  their  rope,  we  may  have 
our  choice  of  routes  going  home.  It  is  perfectly  delightful  to 
think  that  America  has  (as  we  hope)  saved  the  day  by  coming 
so  splendidly  into  the  war;  it  is  nice  to  have  the  President  of 
the  U.  S.  A.  the  most  important  statesman  of  the  present  time, 
and  almost  without  exception  he  is  spoken  of  with  great  ad- 
miration. But  there  is  one  American  who  receives  unstinted 
praise  from  every  man  in  "  Mespot ",  that  is  Henry  Ford. 
They  think  he  ought  to  have  a  peerage! 

Love  to  all 
from 

Katewill. 


57 


LETTER  XII 

ON  THE  WAY  THROUGH  PERSIA 

Hamadan,  Persia,  Oct.  25th,  1918. 
Dear  Nannie: — 

Quite  an  imposing  procession  of  two  touring  cars  and  ten 
vans  set  out  from  Baghdad  on  Oct.  13th,  but  we  have  not  sped 
along  as  swiftly  as  we  hoped.  So  many  motor  diseases  at- 
tacked us,  we  finally  dropped  nine  of  the  vans  or  rather  have 
stopped  waiting  for  them  to  catch  up  with  us.  The  first  night, 
we  did  not  make  our  expected  destination  and  arrived  at  an- 
other camp  after  dark  and  without  our  kit.  Of  course,  we 
were  wonderfully  treated,  and  would  have  been  given  stretchers 
to  sleep  on  had  not  our  beds  arrived  about  ten.  I  have  learned 
how  to  adapt  myself  to  camp  life,  making  up  my  mind  to  for- 
get about  the  dusty  ground  on  which  we  have  to  put  every- 
thing, as  there  is  literally  nothing  in  the  tent  when  we  arrive. 
Sometimes  we  eat  with  the  officers,  but  when  we  arrive  unex- 
pectedly, we  get  our  own  meals;  they  give  us  rations — bully 
beef,  potato  chips,  bacon,  tea,  bread  or  hard  tack,  and  jam. 
Six  of  us  have  come. 

Our  second  night  we  had  crossed  the  Persian  frontier  and 
camped  near  some  ruins  which  Will  was  burning  to  examine ; 
he  went  without  breakfast  the  next  morning  and  ran  a  good 
way  to  photograph  them.  With  Persia,  came  the  mountains 
and  never  in  my  life  have  I  seen  such  wonderful  colors;  per- 
haps the  Bay  of  Naples  is  the  nearest  approach.  The  sky  has 
been  very  blue,  and  the  mountains,  bare  of  vegetation,  have 
had  the  tints  of  an  opal.  The  country  itself  is  pathetic,  noth- 
ing but  ruined  mud  villages ;  the  Russians  and  Turks  have  been 
fighting  here  and  the  devastation  is  terrific.  All  the  houses 
are  built  merely  of  mud,  with  beams  only  for  the  roof,  so  when 

58 


On  the  J  I' ay  through  Persia 


these  are  pulled  out,  having  been  taken  by  the  enemy  and  also 
used  by  the  owners  for  fuel,  there  is  not  much  of  a  building 
left.  The  situation  in  Persia  is  somewhat  better  than  it  has 
been,  but  is  still  deplorable;  we  have  not  seen  people  dying  in 
the  streets,  but  many  you  can  see  are  hungry,  and  the  filth  is 
fearful. 

We  tried  to  make  Kermanshah  that  day,  but  at  4.50  p.  m. 
we  were  told  that  it  was  still  sixteen  miles  away,  and  we  had 
been  strongly  advised  not  to  travel  after  dark.  Yet  I  thought 
if  we  got  in  fairly  early,  as  the  moon  was  bright,  we  might 
risk  it;  so  when  Dr.  Judson  said  I  must  decide,  I  said  I  was 
game.  We  had  to  stop  for  the  other  cars  a  minute  in  a  Kurd- 
ish village,  which  I  did  not  relish.  We  had  also  been  told 
(after  we  had  gone  many  miles),  that  Kermanshah  was  much 
farther  away  than  we  had  been  informed  at  first,  and  when 
one  of  the  cars  cut  up  and  we  had  to  stop  for  a  long  time.  I 
was  not  happy.  To  my  intense  relief,  I  spied  a  small  camp, 
and  there  we  were  given  tents  and  most  hospitably  treated. 
Oh,  the  British!  This  host  was  particularly  attractive.  It 
was  a  wonderful  night,  and  the  mountains,  even  then,  were  a 
beautiful  color;  just  outside  the  camp  was  a  caravanserai 
where  a  caravan  had  halted,  and  all  during  the  night,  we  could 
hear  the  tinkling  of  the  camel's  bells.  It  was  fearfully  cold, 
so  I  was  not  sorry  to  get  up,  and  as  the  camp  was  breaking  up 
at  6.30  we  were  ready,  after  an  early  breakfast,  to  start. 

I  was  glad  to  come  into  Kermanshah  by  daylight,  for  it  is 
prettily  situated  almost  in  the  shadow  of  a  long  range  of 
rocky  mountains  at  the  end  of  which  is  Behistun  Rock,  the 
place  where  Will  climbed  up  to  read  inscriptions  fifteen  years 
ago.  It  was  our  first  large  Persian  city,  and  one  day  we 
walked  through  the  bazaar, — very  narrow  streets  with  shops 
on  both  sides,  many  people,  and  dirty,  oh !  so  dirty.    A  stream 

59 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


runs  through  the  city  and  into  this  all  sorts  of  refuse  is  thrown; 
there  was  the  carcass  of  a  horse  among  other  things,  yet, 
people  drink  this  water!  A  pleasanter  experience,  however, 
was  the  delightful  hospitality  we  received  in  Kermanshah; 
Dr.  Judson  and  we  stayed  at  the  Bank  Manager's  house.  At 
present,  Mr.  Eldrid  from  Tabriz  is  in  charge,  a  delightful  man 
whom  Will  had  met  fifteen  years  ago.  I  did  enjoy  the  com- 
fort, I  tell  you,  and  was  sorry  when  the  two  days  devoted  to 
details  connected  with  the  Commission  were  up. 

We  left  early  on  the  morning  of  Oct.  19th,  and  Dr.  Judson 
let  us  make  a  detour  to  see  some  interesting  rock  carvings, 
which  I  am  glad  to  say  proved  so  to  all.  By  noon  we  reached 
the  famous  Rock  of  Behistun,  with  its  historic  Inscription  of 
Darius,  and  we  lunched  in  front  of  it.  Will  got  as  near  the 
sculptures  as  possible,  but  this  time,  alas!  there  were  no  ropes 
to  be  had,  no  guides,  nor,  above  all,  time;  so  he  regretfully 
came  back  to  the  car  again.  I  was  so  grateful  to  see  the  great 
Rock  with  him. 

The  road  between  Kermanshah  and  Hamadan  is  very  bad, 
and  there  is  an  8000  ft.  pass  to  get  over;  needless  to  say,  I 
was  glad  to  strike  the  plain.  What  a  joy  it  was  to  drive  up 
here  to  Mrs.  Edwards'  home  at  5.20;  never  did  drawing-room 
with  open  fire  and  tea-table  seem  so  delightful,  and  the  fact 
that  I  looked  as  clean  as  a  chimney-sweep  and  had  to  talk 
French  with  a  Russian  colonel  did  not  in  the  least  mar  my 
enjoyment.  Mr.  Edwards  is  an  Englishman,  in  the  rug  busi- 
ness here,  and  Mrs.  Edwards  is  a  New  Yorker;  on  her  last 
visit  there  she  took  some  work  with  Will  at  Columbia.  She 
is  bright  and  very  nice  and  we  are  so  glad  to  be  guests  of  her 
and  her  clever  husband,  both  so  attractive. 

We  had  expected  to  stay  here  two  or  three  days  but  the  lack 
of  gasoline  (petrol  the  British  call  it)  is  keeping  us  here;  I  do 

60 


On  the  Way  through  Persia 


hope  we  shall  get  away  to-morrow,  for  I  am  getting  tired  of 
this  vagabond  life  and  want  to  get  home.  In  the  meantime, 
the  man  are  holding  daily  conferences,  as  Dr.  Jiidson  is  or- 
ganizing committees  for  relief  work;  the  need  is  very  great 
and  the  terrible  things  we  have  heard  about  famine  conditions 
last  year  are  perfectly  sickening.  Prices  are  exceedingly  high, 
only  a  few  things  being  cheaper  than  with  ns,  eggs  and  meat 
among  them.  I  do  wish  I  could  go  out  with  my  arms  full  of 
bread,  but  hundreds  of  people  would  spring  up  out  of  the 
ground  and  I  should  be  crushed.  Yesterday,  Will  and  I  saw 
four  forlorn  little  waifs,  and  alas!  I  had  but  two  nuts  and  a 
milk  tablet  in  my  pocket.  We  carefully  divided  our  meagre 
store  and  as  we  turned  to  give  it,  two  more  children  appeared, 
so  more  division  was  necessary ;  Will  then  photographed  the 
group,  to  their  intense  delight.  The  children  on  the  whole, 
behave  well,  and  I  believe  much  could  be  done  in  this  coun- 
try if  one  could  only  take  infants  from  their  homes  and  train 
them;  the  home  influence  must  be  something  awful.  For  in- 
stance, Mrs.  Edwards  has  a  dear  little  boy,  eight  months  old, 
whose  nurse — a  very  nice  woman,  now  a  Christian, — was 
married  first  when  she  was  only  nine  years  old  to  a  young 
man  who  was  very  good  to  her  but  who  died  when  he  was 
twenty-five.  She  married  again  and  was  the  sixteenth  wife 
of  her  second  husband,  who  had  divorced  all  his  other  wives, 
and  they  were  all  living.  With  this  ladykiller  she  lived  fifteen 
years,  when  he  died. 

It  seems  strange  to  leave  the  still  great  heat  of  Mesopo- 
tamia for  this  cold ;  Hamadan  is  over  6000  feet  above  sea 
level,  and  of  course,  very  cold.  We  have  superb  weather  here 
but  I  expect  we  shall  freeze  at  nights  in  tents ;  and  two  nights, 
at  least,  we  shall  have  to  be  on  the  road.  Our  next  city  is( 
Kazvin,   then  comes  Teheran.     We  shall  be  there  probably 

61 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


several  weeks  and  then  turn  our  faces  homeward.  If  the  war 
is  not  over,  Will  and  I  shall  have  probably  to  return  the  way 
we  came. 

It  is  so  cheering  to  get  the  good  war  news,  just  an  outline 
we  have  here,  in  the  Renter  dispatches,  so  you  may  fancy 
how  I  miss  my  four  daily  papers;  and  Dr.  Judson  is  as  im- 
patient for  news  as  am  I.  He  is  such  a  nice  man,  splendidly 
balanced,  and  we  get  on  admirably;  he  is  a  good  business 
man,  clear,  firm,  and  a  gentleman  to  the  fingertips.  Im  so 
spoilt  by  the  charming  manners  and  manliness  of  these  British, 
I  am  more  critical  than  ever.  Fortunately,  the  other  half  of 
the  Jackson  family  fills  the  bill! 

Much  love  to  you  all 
from 
Katewill. 

Postscript,  Kazznn,  Oct.  28. — The  ride  from  Hamadan  to 
Kazvin  was  beautiful,  particularly  just  before  reaching  the 
Russian  Post  House  where  we  spent  the  first  night.  The  pro- 
prietor at  first  said  he  would  not  take  us  in;  but  when  he 
learned  Dr.  Post  was  a  physician  he  was  eager  to  consult  him. 
He  turned  out  two  Tommies,  gave  up  his  own  rooms,  and 
did  what  he  could  to  make  us  comfortable.  He  was  an  ill 
man,  and  Dr.  P.  was  most  kind  to  him. 

We  arrived  at  Kazvin  in  the  afternoon ;  it  is  not  a  very  in- 
teresting place,  but  Will  and  I  were  most  hospitably  treated  by 
Mr.  Hart  of  the  Imperial  Bank  of  Persia,  a  man  whom  W. 
had  met  in  Persia  on  two  previous  trips.  Both  nights  he  had 
guests  to  dinner,  among  them  being  General  Thomson  who,  I 
believe,  is  Head  of  the  army  in  these  parts.  We  met  also  in 
Kazvin  our  Consul  and  his  wife  from  Tabriz,  from  which 
city  they  had  to  flee  when  the  Turks  captured  it. 

62 


LETTER  XIII 

THE  FIRST  WEEKS  IN  TEHERAN 

American  Legation 
Teheran,  Persia. 
Nov.  II,  1918. 
Dear  Nannie: — 

Two  weeks  we  have  been  in  Teheran;  the  road  from  Kazvin 
here  was  uninteresting  but  I  did  feel  a  thrill  when  I  entered 
the  gates  of  Persia's  Capital.  We  went  at  once  to  our  Lega- 
tion, where  Dr.  Judson  remained,  while  we  others  were  taken 
care  of  by  the  missionaries. 

No  suitable  house  to  lodge  the  Commission  could  be  found, 
so  our  Minister  and  Mrs.  Caldwell  kindly  asked  us  all  to  stay 
at  the  Legation.  As  furniture  was  scarce,  a  Zoroastrian  friend 
very  kindly  loaned  us  some  things,  among  them  being  a  rug, 
which  fitted  our  twenty  six  foot  room  to  the  very  corners. 

We  were  told  to-day  that  a  mail  would  probably  be  sent  ofif 
to  Bombay  to-morrow  and  may  be  one  would  not  go  again 
for  a  long  time,  so  I  must  try  and  get  something  to  you.  I 
have  time  enough  to  write  but  the  interruptions  are  awful, 
and  there  is  a  great  deal  of  noise.  The  men  have  made  and 
are  receiving  a  multitude  of  visits ;  there  are  besides  meetings 
with  the  local  Relief  Committee  and  no  end  of  social  affairs. 
Luckily  for  us,  we  arrived  just  when  the  Allies  came  out  so 
gloriously  on  top;  that  killed  pro-Germanism  here  and  made 
America  correspondingly  popular.  They  seem  to  think  there 
is  nothing  we  can  not  do,  and  the  suggestions  handed  in  for 
our  consideration,  if  carried  out,  would  mean  the  entire  re- 
making of  Persia.    Dr.  Judson  arranged  matters  satisfactorily 

63 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


in  other  cities,  so  I  have  no  doubt  he  will  make  a  wise  deci- 
sion here.  He  is  perfectly  splendid,  and  so  nice,  we  consider 
ourselves  more  than  fortunate  to  have  such  a  Director.  I  told 
him  God  had  sent  him  to  us.  Mr.  Wertheim,  also,  is  fine,  and 
takes  his  job  seriously;  being  a  banker,  he  knows  all  about 
finances,  and  helps  materially  to  make  the  Commission  im- 
portant. Dr.  Post,  the  other  member  of  the  Commission  who 
came  to  Persia  with  us,  is  the  physician  of  our  party;  his 
services  in  the  Relief  Work  are  invaluable,  and  Allah  be 
praised,  he,  and  not  a  reckless  Hindu  driver,  has  driven  the 
car  in  which  W.  and  I  have  travelled.  As  to  Will,  there  are 
several  young  interpreters  about  the  Legation  and  they  have 
brought  me  many  remarks  made  about  him.  I  am  told  for 
instance,  the  papers  said  Professor  Jackson's  coming  was  an 
historic  event  for  Persia!  The  Persians  seem  really  to  have 
great  esteem  for  him  and  know  him  well  by  reputation. 

There  is  great  poverty  here  and  also  great  riches;  I  hope 
the  time  will  come  when  things  are  better  adjusted  than  now. 
The  crying  need  here  is  transportation ;  there  may  be  plenty  of 
grain  in  a  place  a  hundred  miles  away,  and  the  people  in  the 
next  town  starving  for  lack  of  it.  The  roads  are  wretched, 
most  of  them  fit  for  animals  only,  and  so  many  of  these  have 
died  for  lack  of  food,  it  aggravates  the  bad  conditions.  Persia 
has  splendid  resources,  heaps  of  coal  for  instance,  yet  it  is 
selling  for  one  hundred  and  fifteen  (115)  dollars  a  ton! 
Charcoal  is  almost  unobtainable,  and  the  poor  use  it  always, 
so  there  is  another  thing  to  worry  about.  A  great  calamity 
for  this  country  has  been  the  nearness  of  Russia ;  it  has  done 
every  thing  in  its  power  to  keep  Persia  from  developing.  But 
I  hope,  this  curse  having  been  removed,  the  Persians  will  brace 
up  and  improve  their  country;  they  will  need  a  lot  of  help. 
So  much  for  the  dark  side,  and  now  to  tell  you  about  our 

64 


The  First  Jl'ccks  in  Teheran 


social  activities.  The  Shah  received  us  last  week  and  kept  us 
two  hours  and  a  half !  He  spoke  French  very  well  and  asked 
intelligent  questions;  he  is  about  twenty-two  and  very  stout, 
has  pretty  eyes  with  long  lashes;  twice  he  ordered  tea  served 
to  us,  but  did  not  have  the  fire  lighted  which  we  should  have 
much  appreciated,  Persian  houses  being  like  ice-boxes. 

Dinners  are  being  given  us  everywhere.  For  the  first  time 
in  its  history,  the  Madjlis  (Parliament)  gave  us  a  dinner  the 
other  night.  It  was  a  superb  affair.  The  grounds  were  illu- 
minated and  there  were  many  electric  lights  in  the  house  and 
on  the  table,  with  dozens  of  candles  in  silver  candelabra  and 
lots  of  flowers;  it  was  a  fine  sight.  There  were  eleven  courses, 
all  delicious,  and  before  dessert,  a  speech  was  made  in  Persian 
to  which  Dr.  Judson  very  happily  responded  in  English.  The 
Chamber  of  Commerce  also  gave  us  a  dinner,  and  last  week 
there  was  a  delightful  dinner-dance  at  the  Imperial  Club  at 
which  we  were  the  guests  of  the  Persian  members.  Every 
one  seemed  surprised  to  see  the  white-haired  Jacksons  know 
something  about  dancing!  Of  course  only  European  ladies  go 
to  social  affairs  here,  in  this  Mohammedan  country,  so  I  am 
getting  to  know  all  the  prominent  men  very  well  but  have  not 
yet  seen  their  wives;  some  calls  are  to  be  arranged  for  me 
soon,  on  the  ladies.  The  Prime  Minister  and  the  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  have  dined  with  us,  and  there  are  a  lot  of 
others,  past  and  to  come.  I  generally  have  to  speak  French 
with  these  men,  for  only  a  few  of  them  know  English.  One 
day  we  had  tea  at  the  Ministry  of  Education,  where  three 
young  Persians  played  the  violin  very  well.  Afterwards  we 
went  to  the  School  of  Arts,  and  it  was  very  interesting  to  see 
how  well  the  pupils  painted  in  Western  fashion. 

We  see  a  good  deal  of  Sir  Percy  and  Lady  Cox.  very  at- 
tractive both  of  them.     Yesterday,  she  and  several  from  her 

65 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


Legation,  accompanied  us  to  Rei,  a  very  ancient  city  of  which 
now  there  are  practically  no  traces  left ;  but  Zoroaster's  mother 
was  born  there,  and  that,  and  the  Parsi  Tower  of  Silence, 
made  Will  glad  to  visit  it  again.  The  latter  is  situated  on  the 
side  of  a  mountain  in  the  weirdest,  loneliest  spot  imaginable, 
and  unlike  those  in  India,  may  be  approached  by  anyone.  It 
seemed  a  suitable  place  for  such  burial  as  they  have,  and  the 
view  that  faced  us  as  we  turned  away,  was  superb.  As  I  wrote 
you  before,  the  coloring  on  these  bare  Persian  mountains  is 
something  indescribably  beautiful  and  last  evening  it  was 
particularly  fine,  the  most  vivid  hues  changing  rapidly  to  pale 
amethyst  as  the  sun  gave  way  to  a  full  moon  waiting  across 
the  valley  to  shed  its  own  lovely  light  over  the  scene.  Alex- 
ander the  Great  had  been  over  the  same  route  we  were  travers- 
ing and  we  were  leaving  behind  us  the  ruins  of  a  city  that 
flourished  seven  or  eight  centuries  before  Christ,  enough  to 
make  one  motor  home  in  a  thoughtful  mood. 

When  the  news  of  the  signing  of  the  Armistice  came,  we 
felt  we  must  effervesce  some  way,  so  we  decorated  two  cars 
with  American  flags  and  drove  to  the  British  Legation.  There 
we  enthused  Sir  Percy  and  Lady  Cox,  who  in  turn  had  their 
cars  hung  with  British  flags  and  we  all  proceeded  to  the 
French,  Belgium  and  Russian  Legations  to  call.  I  could  not 
help  feeling  how  funny  it  was  to  be  celebrating  our  great  vic- 
tory by  riding  around  the  streets  of  this  far-away  capital. 
You  do  not  know  how  hard  it  is  not  to  get  the  New  Yoi^k 
papers,  although  we  do  get  the  Renter  dispatches. 

Mrs.  Caldwell  gives  a  dinner  to-night  so  I  had  better  stop. 
I  have  written  you  a  great  deal  about  so-called  pleasure,  but 
there  is  a  serious  side  to  our  stay  here  and  I  hope  some  good 
will  result  from  it.  I  understand  now  the  deep  interest  Will 
and  others  have  taken  in  Persia,  and  I  trust  I  will  live  to  see 

66 


The  First  Weeks  in  Teheran 


the  day  of  its  renaissance,  for  its  possibilities,  its  beauties,  are 
too  great  to  allow  it  to  go  to  ruin  for  lack  of  help. 

We  hope  to  leave  about  the  first  of  December,  but  are  not 
sure  of  our  route.  We  all  very  much  fear  that  the  quickest 
one,  Baku,  Batum,  will  be  impossible  and  that  we  shall  have 
to  return  to  Baghdad. 

{Later).  It  will  be  possible  now  to  go  via  Europe  instead 
of  Japan,  Allah  be  praised !  as  it  is  so  much  shorter.  Best  of 
love  to  all  from, 

Katewill. 


er 


LETTER  XIV 

TEHERAN  AND  HOMEWARD  BOUND 

Batum  on  the  Black  Sea. 

Dec.  14,  1918. 
Dear  Nannie  : — 

A  letter  I  wrote  you  in  Teheran  several  weeks  ago,  I  am 
still  carrying  with  us,  as  we  think  we  are  the  quickest  post  that 
has  left  Persia  in  a  long  time.  To  our  surprise  and  intense 
delight,  we  are  able  to  return  this  way ;  from  Teheran  to  Kaz- 
vin,  Resht,  Enzeli,  across  the  Caspian  Sea  to  Baku,  thence  to 
Tiflis,  Batum,  Constantinople,  probably  Taranto,  Rome,  Paris, 
London,  New  York!  We  have  had  a  marvellous  trip  from 
start  to  finish,  and  I  have  written  you  I  fear,  in  a  stupid  way 
about  it,  up  to  the  second  week  in  Teheran,  as  I  recall.  There 
were  many  business  meetings  there  where  relief  measures 
were  decided  on;  famine  conditions  are  better,  but  still  bad 
enough.  Life  in  Persia  will  never  be  comfortable  until  trans- 
portation is  different,  as  now  it  is  sometimes  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  things  can  be  carried  a  hundred  miles.  The  country 
is  a  succession  of  huge  plains  surrounded  by  the  most  beautiful 
mountains  I  have  ever  seen ;  but  to  transport  freight  and  peo- 
ple over  the  passes  there  are  only  animals,  many  of  the  roads 
not  being  fit  for  carriages  let  alone  motors.  As  thousands  of 
animals  have  perished  of  hunger  since  the  war,  it  is  dread- 
fully hard  to  get  provisions  from  the  places  where  they  exist, 
to  the  places  where  they  do  not.  The  Persians  knew,  we,  as 
Americans,  had  come  solely  to  help  and  not  to  get  anything,  so 
our  Commission  had  a  wonderful  reception. 

The  poor  people  alas!  have  little,  but  there  is  plenty  if  one 

68 


Teheran  and  Homeward  Bound 


has  money  enough,  and  many  were  the  dinners  given  in  our 
honor.  Cabinet  Ministers,  Princes,  rich  merchants  and  the 
foreign  Ministers  invited  us  to  their  homes.  We  were  also 
guests  of  honor  at  the  two  Clubs,  and  guests  likewise,  one 
evening,  of  the  Cossack  Officers,  Russian  and  Persian  (the 
troops  are  Persian). 

I  was  taken  also  to  call  on  several  ladies  of  "high  degree", 
among  others  the  Prime  Minister's  wife,  the  wife  of  the 
Master  of  the  Hunt,  an  aunt  of  the  Shah,  and  others.  This 
last  lady  is  very  intelligent,  though  she,  like  all  of  them,  leads 
a  secluded  life.  Infant  mortality  in  Persia  is  about  707^.  so 
it  is  greatly  to  this  woman's  credit  that  all  of  her  nine  children 
are  still  living.  Most  of  the  women  have  their  homes  arranged 
in  quasi-western  style,  at  least  they  receive  one  in  such  rooms ; 
but  in  one  place,  we  were  shown  into  a  real  Persian  room,  and 
sat  on  the  floor  on  a  little  platform  with  cushions  at  our  backs, 
and  our  feet  under  a  table,  covered  with  a  big  satin  quilt. 
Under  this  table  was  a  brazier  with  charcoal,  and  as  I  struck 
a  rather  warm  day  for  this  call,  my  toes  in  patent  leather 
shoes  did  some  quiet  squealing.  Scarcely  any  of  the  Persian 
ladies  speak  French,  but  I  always  went  with  one  of  the  Mis- 
sionary ladies  who  spoke  Persian.  I  don't  know  what  on  earth 
I  should  have  done  in  Teheran  had  I  not  spoken  French ;  with 
the  w^omen  it  was  easy  enough  as  they  were  not  able  to  con- 
verse much  better  than  children,  and  my  interpreter  asked 
them  very  simple  questions  for  me.  The  men,  however,  are 
educated  and  there  was  plenty  to  talk  about  with  them.  The 
old-fashioned  women  seemed  quite  content  with  their  lot,  but 
some  of  the  others  were,  I  think,  very  unhappy;  they  must 
compare  themselves  with  us  and  rebel  against  their  treatment 
— and  think  what  it  must  mean  when  there  are  several  wives ! 
Of  course  there  is  always  the  chief  one,  and  she  can't  be 

69 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


divorced  unless  her  dowry  is  returned.  But  there  are  so-called 
"  temporary  wives  ".  It  is  all  a  grand  mix-up,  very  revolting 
to  our  ideas,  and  I  took  good  pains  to  tell  many  of  the  men 
their  country  would  never  amount  to  much  until  women  were 
treated  differently. 

One  of  the  dinners  given  us,  as  I  have  told  you,  was  in  the 
House  of  Parliament,  the  first  time  such  a  thing  was  ever 
done ;  it  was  a  superb  banquet.  The  nicest  luncheon  was  given 
by  an  uncle  of  the  Shah,  the  only  other  guests,  besides  our- 
selves, being  his  three  brothers.  It  was  out  in  the  country  at 
the  place  I  mentioned,  called  Rei,  which  was  formerly  a  great 
city  centuries  before  Christ.  This  Prince  owns  the  site  and 
gave  us  each  a  gold  coin,  a  very  old  one,  which  had  been  dug 
up  there.  It  was  a  perfect  day,  and  the  mountains  were  daz- 
zlingly  beautiful.  As  we  drove  through  one  of  the  multi- 
colored city  gates,  with  a  blue  mosque  to  one  side  of  it  and 
the  glorious  mountains  as  a  background,  I  thought  it  was  one 
of  the  loveliest  pictures  I  had  seen  in  the  Orient,  and  I  have 
seen  many. 

The  Minister  of  Education  invited  Will  to  lecture  at  the 
University,  and  I  was  immensely  pleased  when,  after  the  lec- 
ture he  was  presented  with  an  order,  that  of  the  Lion  and  the 
Sun;  it  was  quite  a  surprise  to  both  of  us,  and  as  every  one 
said,  greatly  merited.  The  evening  before  we  left,  the  Min- 
ister for  Foreign  Affairs,  and  the  Shah's  Master  of  Cere- 
monies called  and  bestowed  orders  on  Dr.  Judson,  Dr.  Post, 
Mr.  Wertheim  and  Will,  and  gave  me  a  diamond  ring.  We 
felt  very  fine,  and  it  was  nice  to  have  one  of  the  men  from  the 
Foreign  Ofifice  tell  me  that  they  often  gave  orders  for  diplo- 
matic reasons,  but  all  agreed  it  had  never  given  them  such 
pleasure  as  to  do  so  for  the  American  Commission.  It  is  very 
pleasant  at  present  to  be  an  American  in  foreign  lands,  and  it 

70 


Teheran  and  Homeward  Bound 


is  particularly  pleasant  to  be  a  member  of  an  American  Com- 
mission; it  is  distinctly  nice  to  have  people  wonder  if  one's 
President  will  allow  this,  or  advise  that,  or  do  thus  and  so,  for 
such  and  such  a  country.  Dr.  Judson  has  had  delegation 
after  delegation  call  and  present  their  case,  Persians  of  all 
kinds,  Armenians,  Syrians,  Tartars,  Georgians,  etc.  We  have 
found  the  British  everywhere  delightful  and  are  glad  to  be 
their  Allies.  I  don't  think  it  is  because  I  belong  to  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race  I  think  it  so  superior;  but  I  have  seen  enough  of 
the  world  to  compare  it  with  others,  and  I  must  say,  every  time 
the  odds  are  in  our  favor.  We  saw  a  great  deal  of  Sir  Percy 
and  Lady  Cox  and  liked  them  immensely.  The  British  Lega- 
tion in  Teheran  is  large  and  comfortably  furnished  and  the 
grounds  are  beautiful.  All  the  other  countries  have  nice  lega- 
tions there  and  it  is  only  our  great  country  that  makes  its 
Minister  hire  anything  he  can  get — such  a  draughty,  dingy 
place  as  ours  there  was ! 

Of  course  there  are  many,  many  more  things  I  could  write 
you  about  our  stay  in  Teheran,  but  I  shall  have  to  tell  you  in- 
stead when  we  get  home.  How  I  ever  got  packed,  I  don't 
know,  for  the  interruptions  were  tremendous;  lots  of  people 
called  the  afternoon  before,  and  even  on  Monday  morning. 
We  were  to  have  started  at  nine,  but  the  lazy  Hindu  drivers 
we  brought  from  Bombay  (trifling  as  some  of  our  darkies) 
managed  not  to  be  ready  till  10.30.  We  found  what  space 
our  numerous  parcels  and  bags  would  permit,  and  drove  away 
from  a  garden  full  of  friends  and  iacquaintances,  and  salaam- 
ing servants.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Caldwell,  and  Mr.  Bader  the 
Consul,  accompanied  us  to  the  nearest  village,  and  the  last  per- 
son we  saw  whom  we  knew,  was  the  Prime  Minister  to  whom 
we  waved  as  he  came  along  preceded  and  followed  by  clatter- 
ing Cossacks.     It  was  very  late  when  we  arrived  at  Kazvin 


71 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


and  our  host  had  asked  people  to  meet  us.  I  could  hardly 
keep  awake  after  dinner,  and  in  the  morning,  we  had  to  get 
up  at  half  past  five. 

Our  drive  that  morning  was  over  a  pass,  with  most  beau- 
tiful scenery.  Just  as  we  neared  the  foot,  a  little  before  sun- 
set, we  passed  the  longest  camel  train  I  have  ever  seen;  ani- 
mal after  animal,  with  its  pack,  walked  along  in  stately 
fashion  and  I  longed  for  a  picture  of  the  whole  scene,  with 
camels,  drivers  and  the  mountainous  background,  bathed  in 
the  beautiful  sunset  colors.  Will  did  his  best  with  a  Kodak, 
but  even  should  it  turn  out  well,  it  can  be  but  a  reminder  of 
the  actual  picture. 

At  last  we  left  the  mountains  which  had  been  such  a  keen 
joy  to  me  for  weeks,  and  we  reached  what  they  call  the 
"  jungle  " — trees  on  the  hillside  which  gradually  became  level. 
For  a  long  time,  we  had  known  only  sunlight  and,  in  conse- 
quence, dust;  so  it  seemed  perfectly  delightful  to  smell  the 
damp  earth  once  more,  for  it  rains  a  lot  in  that  part  of  Persia. 
It  is  a  rice-growing  country  and  very  unhealthy,  as  the  pallid 
faces  of  the  natives  show;  there  is  great  distress  there  which 
Dr.  Judson  took  steps  to  try  and  alleviate.  There  are  no 
hotels  in  Persia  except  two  or  three  awful  ones  in  Teheran, 
so  at  Resht  some  of  us  stopped  with  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Frame, 
missionaries,  the  others  with  the  Bank  Manager. 

After  a  day's  rest,  we  went  on  to  Enzeli  on  the  Caspian  Sea, 
about  ten  miles  away  and  took  the  boat,  a  very  dirty  one,  but 
pointed  in  the  right  direction.  It  was  afternoon  when  we 
sailed,  and  though  the  sun  was  not  shining,  there  was  a  won- 
derful golden  light  on  a  fine  range  of  snow-covered  moun- 
tains. I  watched  them  till  it  faded  and  thought  it  a  fitting 
farewell,   that  mountains  which  had  greeted  my  gaze  as  I 

72 


Teheran  and  Honiezcard  Bound 


entered  Persia,  were  also  the  last  bit  I  saw  of  the  land  of  the 
Lion  and  the  Sun. 

The  next  morning  about  ten,  we  reached  Baku,  and  one  of 
the  British  General's  aides  met  us  and  took  us  to  the  hotel. 
There  have  been  Turks.  Bolsheviki  and  Armenians  and  Tar- 
tars, all  fighting  there,  so  the  town  was  rather  a  sorry  looking 
place ;  still  it  had  pavements  and  at  present  was  quiet,  and  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  walking,  and  sometimes,  by  myself,  quite 
unusual  after  Persia.  There  Will  had  no  time  to  walk  with 
me,  and  it  was  so  little  fun  having  our  servant  go  with  me, 
I  used  to  stay  at  home. 

In  Baku  and  the  adjacent  country,  the  Tartars  and  Ar- 
menians loathe  each  other.  Last  September,  the  Tartars  mas- 
sacred some  twenty  thousand  Armenians  as  a  return  compli- 
ment to  the  Armenians  w^ho  last  March  killed  twelve  thousand 
Tartars.  One  Armenian  boasted  of  having  killed  sixty-six, 
but  in  a  report  of  the  Bishop,  great  stress  was  laid  on  the  hor- 
rible cruelty  of  the  Tartars  and  their  fearful  September  mas- 
sacre, while  the  Armenian  massacre  last  Spring  was  called 
"  the  events  in  March  "  ! 

There  is  tremendous  work  to  be  done  out  here  by  the  British 
and  other  Allies  before  certain  parts  of  Asia  are  fit  to  live  in. 
The  British  have  some  splendid  men  in  Baku,  their  Chief, 
General  Thomson  who  is  only  thirty-eight,  being  one  of  the 
best  all-round  specimens  of  manhood  I  have  ever  known.  Will 
and  I  had  tea  with  him  and  his  staff  the  afternoon  before 
leaving  Baku.  He  sent  his  aides  the  next  morning  to  put  us 
on  the  train,  and  six  Tommies,  who  to  their  intense  joy  are 
being  allowed  to  go  home,  accompanied  us  as  guards  and 
servants.  We  had  a  car  to  ourselves  and  proceeded  in  most 
leisurely  fashion  expecting  to  come  straight  on  to  Batum ;  but 

73 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


the  Government  of  Georgia  begged  us  to  stop  over  as  their 
guests  at  Tiflis. 

We  arrived  at  Tiflis  at  8  a.  m.  and  found  the  town  all 
decorated,  as  it  was  the  first  anniversary  of  the  National 
Guard.  We  did  not  like  red  flags  everywhere,  but  the  more 
moderate  natives  assured  us  they  were  not  as  socialistic  as 
they  seemed.  Tiflis  is  the  Capital  of  Georgia  and  notwith- 
standing the  fact  the  country  became  a  part  of  Russia  and 
was  almost  Russianized,  the  natives  still  retain  their  language 
and  their  love  of  country.  They  are  crazy  now  to  have  a 
Republic,  one  of  the  many  this  war  will  produce,  and  they 
point  with  pride  to  the  fact  that  Georgia  is  the  only  part  of 
Russia  where  Bolshevism  was  kept  out.  They  have  also 
been  Christians  since  the  third  or  fourth  century  and  one  thing 
that  impressed  us  all,  is  their  great  respect  for  women.  As 
Dr.  Judson  says,  they  have  a  home  life,  something  their  Mo- 
hammedan neighbors  lack.  The  Committee  that  took  charge 
of  us  was  composed  of  very  pleasant  people,  among  them  a 
Prince  and  Princess  of  old  lineage,  a  general  who  had  been  in 
the  Russian  army,  a  very  attractive  man,  a  doctor,  etc.  They 
gave  us  three  delicious  meals,  rooms  to  rest  in,  and  took  us 
sight-seeing,  finally  bringing  us  to  a  train  which  carried  only 
us,  at  II  p.  m. 

We  reached  here,  Batum,  the  next  night  and  had  to  stay — 
such  a  hotel !  quite  the  filthiest  I  have  ever  seen.  We  all  slept 
on  camp  beds  as  a  precautionary  measure!  ]\Ir.  Balfour  has 
ordered  a  British  man-of-war  to  take  us  to  Taranto,  and  at 
daylight  Dr.  Post  knocked  at  our  door  and  said  the  boat 
would  be  ready  for  us  in  three  quarters  of  an  hour.  We 
promptly  got  ready  for  the  boat,  which  did  not  arrive  till  later 
and  which  cannot  sail  till  to-morrow.  We  can  scarcely  wait 
till  the  time  comes,  and  in  the  meantime,  have  cast  many 


74 


Teheran  and  Homeward  Bound 


grateful  glances  at  the  Black  Sea,  the  connecting  link  between 
us  and  home. 

H.  M.  S.  "Forzi'ard"—in  the  Gulf  of  Corinth.— Wq  left 
Batum  on  this  Cruiser  in  the  loveliest  weather  imaginable. 
Two  high  ranges  of  snow-  peaks  run  on  either  side  of  the  town 
and  for  a  long  distance;  in  the  sunlight,  they  looked  superb. 
All  went  well  that  day,  but  oh !  the  next.  This  boat  shook 
dreadfully  and  rolled  a  lot,  so  although  I  have  sailed  On  many 
seas.  I  lowered  my  colors  for  the  first  time  this  trip,  on  the 
Black  Sea.  Our  Captain,  such  a  nice  fellow,  gave  me  his 
cabin  (General  Townshend  and  also  Venizelos  once  occupied 
it,  as  passengers)  which  made  me  feel  very  badly,  until  he 
assured  me  he  always  slept  in  his  quarters  on  the  bridge ;  Will 
slept  on  his  camp  bed,  and  to  my  delight  there  was  a  private 
bath  for  our  use.  It  certainly  was  an  unusual  experience  for 
me  to  be  a  passenger  on  a  British  man-of-war,  but  it  has 
been  a  very  agreeable  one.  A  British  General  whom  we  know 
quite  w^ell  came  along  also  and  our  meals  have  been  pleasant 
affairs. 

On  the  17th  we  reached  Constantinople  and  were  fortunate 
to  have  fine  weather  in  the  Bosphorus  which  was  beautiful; 
the  harbor  w^as  filled  wath  Allied  war  ships,  and  a  military 
lorry  took  us  all  and  our  big  pile  of  luggage  to  the  Pera  Palace 
Hotel,  the  same  one  Will  and  I  stopped  at  before.  You  can't 
have  any  conception  of  the  delight  it  was  to  us  to  get  to  a  first 
class  hotel,  even  though  lack  of  coal  prevented  warm  baths, 
and  also,  heat;  but  we  did  not  suffer  from  the  cold.  We  got 
good  food  but  the  prices  were  perfectly  exorbitant.  Constan- 
tinople is  as  dirty  as  ever,  being  far  more  attractive  to  look  at 
from  a  ship — at  least,  I  think  so.  The  Bazaar  is  filled  with 
trashy  Western  things,  and  the  shops  in  the  principal  streets 
charge  enormously   for  everything.      Fortunately  W.   and   I 

75 


Around  the  World  to  Persia 


had  done  the  sights  reHgiously  before,  so  this  time  we  went 
only  to  St.  Sophia  (very  dingy  it  looks)  and  for  a  few  min- 
utes to  the  Museum. 

For  a  time  we  did  not  know  how  we  were  to  continue  our 
trip;  but  Dr.  Judson  saw  the  British  Admiral,  who  is  the 
Commanding  officer,  and  to  our  joy  word  came  we  were  to 
be  carried  to  Taranto  on  the  same  boat.  To-day  we  went 
through  the  Corinth  Canal,  which  is  about  four  miles  long 
and  only  80  ft.  wide.  This  is  the  largest  boat  that  can  get 
through,  and  it  is  no  easy  job,  I  fancy.  Unfortunately  it  was 
a  rainy  day,  but  one  could  easily  imagine  how  superb  the 
scenery  about  here  is.  We  expect  to  reach  Taranto  to-morrow 
and  go  straight  to  Paris,  where  I  shall  mail  all  of  our  letters. 
As  Dr.  Judson  said,  we  did  not  come  out  for  pleasure,  but 
we  have  had  many  pleasant  times,  and  altogether,  it  has  been 
a  wonderful  experience.  We  are  all  longing  for  home  now, 
though,  and  thank  fortune,  it  will  not  be  long  before  we  get 
there. 

Much  love  to  all 
from 

Katewill. 


76 


SEP     2  1981 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


Form  LQ-Series  4939 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    000  708  805    7 


M 


